King of the Wilderwest
by Kyra Tuiama
Summary: With Hiccup's 16th birthday approaching, he makes some interesting discoveries, including a prophecy about the next King of the Wilderwest. Along with Astrid, Toothless and some old and new friends, Hiccup finds himself becoming responsible for the fate of Berk and eventually the entire Barbaric Archipelago. Cover made by my friend, anotori.
1. The Occasional Good Life

My second story here! It's a sequel to my previous fan fiction. You don't need to read it to understand, but it might help answer some questions. Anyway, I'm mixing elements from the book and the movie plus my own ideas so we'll see how this goes.

**Chapter One: The Occasional Good Life/Meeting at Mildew's**

For Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, he'd had a great life for the past month or so. That is, if you crossed out his dragon falling ill and battling a whole island of barbaric vikings to find a cure only to lose the antidote, fall sick yourself and nearly die.

But all of that was definitely worth it. For Hiccup had awakened a dormant ability within himself. And now, he's incredibly eager to bring out the best in him. Unfortunately for him, being a hiccup and all, that was not going to be easy. Hiccup had discovered he had an innate ability in sword-fighting ever since that day on the island of Hysteria when he was battling Norbert the Nutjob in a fight that almost cost him his life. Though now, the chief kind of wanted his head.

Toothless, Hiccup's black Night Fury sat at the edge of the arena. His eyes were focused on his rider, who was in a surprisingly confident stance facing the village's top viking teenager, Astrid Hofferson who stood two meters or so across from Hiccup. "Are you sure you're ready for this, Hiccup?" she asked with a confident voice. Astrid had trained herself in sword-fighting after learning that Hiccup had skill in it. She practiced while Hiccup was out flying with Toothless so she can surprise him whenever they were to spar. She took tips from Gobber and fought against the other viking teens who easily lost to her. It was clear that Astrid was convinced that she was going to win.

A smile appeared on Hiccup's face. Without warning, Astrid shot forward, holding her blade in front of her and ready to strike. Hiccup shifted his weight to his right foot which was behind him. Calmly, he reached for the hilt of his sword, bringing it out just as it clashed with Astrid's.

Astrid had to admit that she was a little surprised. She was sure that she was going to catch Hiccup off guard. But it's not over yet. "You're wide open," she piped before bringing her sword back and shooting it forward. Hiccup neatly sidestepped and grinned.

"Nope, you are." Hiccup thrusted his left arm forward and knocked Astrid's sword right out of her hand. The sound of crashing metal filled with arena. The other viking teenagers who were spectators stared at the scene in front of them in awe. "So...Hiccup can beat Astrid now?" Tuffnut suddenly spoke up.

"I guess," Snotlout replied. "But he's still not as good as her in any other form of combat. Unlike me."

"Yeah right," Ruffnut scoffed. "You always get your butt kicked by her."

Sighing, Astrid bent down and picked up her sword. "I guess I should have known that I wasn't a match for you." She sheathed her blade. "I guess that's some strong chief viking blood you have in your veins."

"It's the only thing I have," Hiccup told her, sheathing his sword as well. He walked over to the edge of the arena where Toothless, the teens and their dragons were waiting. "So guys, how was that?" he asked.

"Incredible!" Fishlegs breathed. "And to think that you only started your lessons a month ago."

"Though I would have preferred to discover that skill in a less life-or-death-ish situation," Hiccup answered. "I don't want to think what's going to happen if I run into Norbert again."

"It's never a good idea to get on a chief's bad side," Astrid added. "And you just made the chief of one of the craziest, nastiest and barbaric tribe around hate you."

"Thank you, for summing that up," Hiccup muttered under his breath. He walked over to Toothless and got on his back, securing his metal foot on the stirrup. Astrid raised an eyebrow. "Where are you going?"

"Flying," Hiccup replied nonchalantly. "Astrid, can you take over the class today? I wasted some flying time with Toothless for that little spar."

Astrid nodded as Toothless took a few steps before flying out the arena. For Hiccup, nothing is like feeling the wind in your hair while flying on the back of your best companion. It's as good as his life can get. No dragon getting rid of attempts from Mildew, no attacks from Alvin, no conflict in the village involving dragons and his relationship with his father is going fairly well.

A little too good of a life?

Coincidentally, Hiccup and Toothless flew over a certain house. This house was built far away from the village on the other side of the island. No one wanted to go to Mildew's house unless they had to. To most of the villagers, he didn't deserve to "live among civilized men".

Unbeknownst to anyone else, the reason that Mildew hasn't been giving his complaints of the day lately was because he was busy doing something else. Inside his house were two more large viking men: Alvin the Treacherous and Norbert the Nutjob. The three had recently agreed to an alliance in an attempt to get their hands on their target.

Alvin slammed his mug onto the table. "I can't take it anymore!" he growled. "I've had enough of the dragon raids on my island. I want the boy now!"

"But if I give him up to you, how do I know you're going to give me the honor of slicing his head off later?" Norbert cooed. "You are an Outcast after all. Your word means nothing."

"No point in arguing gentlemen," said Mildew as he stroked Fungus, his pet sheep's head sinisterly. "We need to figure this out soon. If this continues, who knows when we might be found out. It will certainly lead to a fight and me facing punishment."

Using his arm to wipe the wine off his lips, Alvin leaned back on his chair and placed his legs on the table. "This is not good. How old is the boy now?" he questioned.

"He's currently fifteen, I think," Mildew replied. "But his birthday is just around the corner. It won't be long before the boy turns sixteen."

Alvin cursed. "At this rate, he could discover the prophecy any minute," he snarled. "I need to get rid of him now." The Outcast chief gained the attention of Norbert and Mildew. "Prophecy?" Norbert repeated, curious. "What prophecy?"

A wicked smile appeared on Alvin's face. "You'll find out in due time, Norbert."

The Hysteric chief scoffed. "If I find out it's something concerning me, you'll find yourself begging for your life."

"Now, now, gentlemen," Mildew added in slightly hastily. "Let's not break our alliance. We need each other to get the boy."

"I don't need anyone. I can get the boy on my own," Alvin and Norbert both muttered at the same time.

"Says the one who got his ship sunk," Norbert jeered.

"Says the one who lost to him in a sword battle," Alvin sneered in reply. Mildew sighed. "We'll do what we can. I just need him gone. He's thwarted every single one of my attempts to get rid of those pesky dragons. In the meantime, we cannot let anyone know of our alliance."

Despite their quarrels, Norbert and Alvin had to nod in agreement. "We will need to move soon," Mildew continued. "But we need to wait for the right moment."

_Current Date: February 16th _

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This is a fairly short chapter and my expositions are always boring. I will most likely not be updating often since I'm participating in NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month and I'll write fan fiction when I get writer's block on my other stories.


	2. History's Secrets

Chapter two! I'm still working out the plot of this as I go along. I didn't bother to come up with a better tribe name, so I just used the original "Hairy Hooligans" name that Cressida gave to Hiccup's village.

**Chapter Two: History's Secrets**

After flying with Toothless, Hiccup resumed his daily routine of teaching the other teens more about dragons and how to train them as well as drawing some more sketching of dragons. He's beginning to think that his current life was a little too easy, as stated before. But since we all know Hiccup, that is not going to last long.

That evening before dinner, Toothless landed with Hiccup on his back in front of the Haddock house, the highest in the village. Beside the house, Thornado slept soundly. Hiccup walked past the Thunderdrum and being careful to not wake the dragon up, opens the door to his house and walked in. Due to the other viking teens requesting spars from him, Hiccup arrived home later than usual, even though he did beat them all easily. Astrid was, I wouldn't say jealous, but she was a little amazed on that the Hiccup who would once always wreck the village was now a dragon trainer and a sword-fighting genius.

Inside, sitting in front of the fire was Stoick the Vast(O hear his name and tremble, ugh ugh).

"Hey dad," Hiccup said as he held the door open for Toothless to walk in. The dragon hopped up the stairs and up to Hiccup's bedroom while his rider stayed at the fire with his father. "So how was chiefing today?"

"The usual," Stoick replied. "Married some couples, dealt with yak tipping, you know those things." Hiccup walked over to the back of the house to fetch a mug of water for his father, who quickly drank it.

"Oh right, Hiccup," Stoick began, putting the mug down after drinking large mouthfuls. He picked up a book and dropped it in his son's arms. Hiccup looked at his father suspiciously. "This is...a book?"

"Not just any book," Stoick continued. "This book contains the history of your great-great-great-and more greats-grandfather, Grimbeard the Ghastly. I need you to read it."

"Wait, what?" Hiccup blurted out. "Read this whole book? By when?"

"Tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?!"

"Yes." Stoick adjusted his viking helmet a little bit. "You see, you're becoming sixteen soon, and celebrations are often held with a viking heir turns sixteen. It means he's eligible to become the chief. You know about the meeting we have between the Allied Tribes, don't you?"

"The Thing, isn't it?" Hiccup answered. "It's a meeting where the Bog Burglars, the Meathead Tribes and the Hairy Hooligans-which is us-talk about important topics."

"That's right. I'm taking you with me to the next Thing which happens to be soon and we leave tomorrow."

Hiccup looked at his father, still confused. "Take me? Why?"

"It's tradition when all the heirs of the Allied Tribes reach around the age of sixteen, each tribe will bring two representatives, one boy and one girl. One of them has to be the heir and the other a regular villager. So tomorrow, I'll be taking you and Astrid to The Thing. Which is exactly why I need you to finish reading that book by tomorrow before we leave."

"My question is why," Hiccup muttered. "Can't I read this after we get back from The Thing?"

"It's Hooligan tradition for the heir of the tribe to know the complete history of Grimbeard the Ghastly before turning sixteen," Stoick told his son in a very matter-of-fact tone.

Sighing, Hiccup put the book down on the table behind him. "I'll read it later," he said. "For now, let's go get dinner."

Walking out of the house, Hiccup and his father headed up the stairs to the Meade Hall. Toothless merrily followed his rider.

The Meade Hall was as active as ever. Viking ate their meals in happy manners, but of course, still with a lack of manners. Stoick went off with Gobber, Sven and other of the viking adults while Hiccup stayed with Toothless and Astrid who was taking a break from the twin's bickering and Snotlout's flirting.

Astrid noticed that Hiccup was once again picking at his meat rather than eating. But she could tell that something was off. "Okay, what's wrong?" she asked him. Hiccup sighed.

"My father is planning to take you and me on The Thing tomorrow," Hiccup muttered in response.

"He just told you?" Astrid replied, surprised. "I've known about it for about a week or so now."

"How come you didn't tell me?"

Groaning, Hiccup quickly picked up the remains of his dinner and quickly stuffed it in his mouth before getting up. Astrid raised an eyebrow. "Where are you going?"

"My dad wants me to read the whole story of Grimbeard the Ghastly before leaving, so I have to finish all of it tonight. You wouldn't happen to be able to summarize it for me, would you?"

Astrid smiled. "Sure, Grimbeard the Ghastly. I'll give you a rundown. That book is a collection of his memoirs and all the things he went through. Grimbeard was the greatest viking that ever lived. He was incredibly wealthy. Hamish the First's treasure that you went after was said to be completely child's play in comparison. Grimbeard had power and riches beyond your wildest dreams. He conquered the wilderness and islands. People eventually called him a King."

"King?" Hiccup repeated. "King of what?"

Astrid gave her friend a devious smile. "The rest you're going to have to read and find out yourself. I remember reading something about Grimbeard's three sons. One of them became the chief of Berk."

"What about the others?"

"I told you, read and find out yourself." Astrid paused before continuing. "I have to admit I'm surprised. I thought you would already know all this stuff and have it memorized at the back of your brain, if even you aren't Fishlegs."

Smiling sheepishly, Hiccup scratched the back of his head. "I had a lot of other things to do back then to occupy my time," he murmured. Such things included trying to kill a dragon and gaining his father's respect, but we all know how that turned out.

"Well, looks like I have my work cut out for me," Hiccup said to no one in particular. He turned around to face Toothless who was just gobbling down a fish. "You coming, bud?"

The dragon quickly finished it's meal and trotted after Hiccup. When he reached his house, Hiccup sighed as he picked up the book of memoirs before walking up the stairs to his room. He dumped the book onto his table before sliding into the chair. Toothless pounced onto his bed and curled himself up there.

"Sure, make yourself comfortable while I have to stay up and study," Hiccup grumbled. Toothless snorted softly before lowering his head. Hiccup turned his attention back to the book, turning the brown cover with an image of a shield in front revealing the yellow-brownish pages within and started to read.

_Dear reader, _the book began, _what you are reading now is a collection of memoirs that I have written. They detail the thrills and challenges I have endured in my life. These documents should only be available to the eyes of the Hairy Hooligans only. Customs and beliefs change along with the age. With this documentation, I hope a future generation can learn from it and become better leaders in a world that was much better than mine. _

_ G.G_

Hiccup turned to the next page and continued to read in the candle-light. Over the next few hours, he read. Sometimes he got bored and would read out loud, ignoring the fact that Toothless could be listening to him.

But from all that reading, Hiccup managed to grasp it. Grimbeard the Ghastly was a great warrior. Buff, strong and all things viking. Eventually, he won many battles, conquering other islands and territories to the point where the mere mention of his name would scare the mightiest of soldiers. Soon afterwards, people began calling him a king.

King of the Wilderwest to be exact. As Hiccup read, he learned that Grimbeard indeed had three children, but only the detail of Chucklehead, the one who became the next chief of Berk was included in the book. This left Hiccup very confused.

"Something's not right," he would mutter occasionally to himself as he read. It was at those times that Toothless would perk his ears up, but would soon go back to relaxing on his bed.

By the time Hiccup reached the end, he found that the book's conclusion was mostly talking about how Grimbeard regretted several things that he had done in his life. This however, did not ease Hiccup's frustration. "Regret towards what?" He had the feeling that there was something important he wasn't understanding. Hiccup eventually found himself flipping through the book's pages again randomly, as if he was looking for something.

Eventually, he paused at a page where Grimbeard talked about his family. Toothless stood up from his bed and walked over to Hiccup. By sneaking up behind his rider and making a soft noise, Toothless startled him. Hiccup's fingers suddenly jerked and a ripping sound was then heard.

"Toothless," Hiccup breathed. "Don't startle me like that." That was when he noticed what he had done. "Oh great. Now I've busted a historical document." But there was something that caught his eye. Hiccup noticed that the page wasn't ripped, as in there wasn't a line indicating a rip. It was then that he realized that Hiccup had ripped the top of something off.

Hurriedly, the boy stood up. He ran downstairs, quickly grabbing a knife and ran back up the stairs. Hiccup ran the knife's edge along that mysterious rip, only to find the paper give way to-

"A secret page," he whispered to himself. Hiccup put the knife down at the side of his desk and focused on his attention to this new page. Toothless purred in curiosity. What Hiccup read startled him.

_That was a dark day. It was around the end of February. That day, I did something that I would never forgive myself for. It was something that I would forever regret. _

_ It was true that I indeed had three sons. And there are reasons why I would like to remember only one of them. Because my two other sons...I have not too fond memories of. My first born, Thugheart, and my last born. He was much smaller than everyone else. I remembered the day when we had to name him. It had been decided that he was to be named "Hiccup". This definitely disturbed me. But because he was my son, I had to accept him anyway. _

_ Over the next twenty years or so, I certainly did not regret that decision. My son, Hiccup Horrendous the Second turned out to be an incredibly intelligent viking. I would say he was a little too smart for his age. Even though he was a runt compared to the other warriors, he had his own skills, especially in the art of sword-fighting just like his father. I couldn't have been prouder. Due to all his abilities, I was thinking of making him my heir instead of Thugheart. _

_ That was where everything went wrong. _

Hiccup swallowed a large lump in my throat. "So even a man as mighty as Grimbeard the Ghastly had a son that was like me," he said softly. "What is going on?" Reluctantly, he continued to read.

_To think that one would sabotage and frame the other for power, even it was family. And that was exactly what Thugheart did. I was a fool for listening to him and not my own heart. Every night, Thugheart's words would echo in my brain. "That Hiccup, he's just using you, father. He never wanted your love. He wants your money and power. You must get rid of him." He would say something like that every day. _

_ I never thought I would believe him. But one day, during a dragon raid, Hiccup and I were fighting side by side. It was then that my son made an unwise swing that wounded me. It was then that I decided that Thugheart was right all along. In that minute, I stabbed my own son right through the chest without a second thought with my own blade. _

_ The pained look I saw in Hiccup's eyes...it still haunted my memories to this very day. Along with his faint voice and last gesture. A dragon prepared to attack us when using his last strength, Hiccup killed the dragon before it laid a single claw on me. "I would never want to hurt you, father," was what he said. "I'd protect you with my life. But if this is how fate wants it, then this is how it shall be". _

_ Even though it was futile, I tried to stop the blood that was gushing out from my son's wound. The moment his body fell lifeless, I cursed the heavens, I cursed the gods, and most importantly, I cursed Thugheart. With the little bit of mercy I had left, I banished him to the Outcast Lands. I appointed Chucklehead to become Berk's chief. _

_ That was my last action as King of the Wilderwest. _

As he sat there, Hiccup's lips trembled slightly along with his fingers. Toothless looked at his rider, curious and worried at the same time due to his reaction.

What Hiccup had read that day in Grimbeard's memoirs he would never forget. Hiccup had a feeling that he just stumbled onto a secret history, as if the gods wanted him to read this. But the thing with secrets is that they were supposed to be kept that way.

_Current Date: February 16th_

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That chapter certainly took a lot of time. It was also heavily based on what happened in the original story, which was the one that Cressida Cowell wrote.


	3. The Island of Tomorrow

Chapter Three! School was off today so I had an extra day to write! Sort of...The name of the new island was taken from the books. It was a random island in the books that I don't think was ever used so I decided to use it as a setting in the story. I've also thrown in some elements from the third book of the series.

In this chapter, I also introduces my original characters!

**Chapter Three: Island of Tomorrow**

Even with the rays of the sun on his face, Hiccup didn't wake up. He remained slumped over his table. He had fallen asleep right on the book last night and was still sleeping soundly. Toothless walked over to his rider and nudged Hiccup's head softly.

Slowly, Hiccup's eyes fluttered open. Bringing his head up, the young viking rubbed his eyes sleepily. "Morning already?" he murmured. That's when Hiccup's eyes became wide open. "It's morning?!" Hiccup quickly stood up and grabbed a straw bag with a lid, hastily stuffing spare clothes into it. Waistcoats, tunics, pants, an extra boot. He also threw in his sketching book with two charcoal pencils.

When he was sure Hiccup wasn't forgetting anything, he heaved a sigh of relief. Walking over to the side of his bed, Hiccup strapped his scabbard onto his belt. He then went over to the desk with Grimbeard's memoirs.

It was still on the secret page he discovered yesterday. Hiccup ran his fingers through the pages for a couple moments.

"Hiccup!" Stoick bellowed from the first floor of the house. "Are you done? We're leaving!"

Perking his head up Hiccup closed the book and hauled the woven straw bag over his shoulder. "Coming!" he called back to his father. Hiccup turned around and jogged down the stairs, Toothless walking down after him.

Stoick stood tall and proud in front of his son. "Now remember Hiccup," Stoick began, "I need our dragons to be on their best behavior. We're representing our whole tribe so whatever those beasts do reflects on you. And-"

"Whatever I do reflects on you," Hiccup finished for his father, slightly annoyed. "I get it dad. Let's go."

Nodding, Stoick walked out of the house along with his son. Outside, Hiccup saw that Astrid was already waiting for him. Next to her was her blue Deadly Nadder, Stormfly. Astrid also carried a bag, except that it was a leather one. She also had a scabbard attached to her leather skirt.

Walking out from the side of the house was Thornado, Stoick's blue Thunderdrum. The chief got on his dragon's back as Thornado began to hover in the air. Astrid climbed onto Stormfly's back while Hiccup secured his prosthetic foot on Toothless' left stirrup and made sure that the dragon's red prosthetic tail was working properly.

"Where are the others?" Hiccup asked Astrid, trying to sound casual.

"The usual," she replied nonchalantly. "I think Fishlegs is re-reading that botany book again. Snotlout and the twins, they're probably yak-tipping or something."

"Again?" Stoick groaned. "Gobber will deal with those three later."

Toothless hopped off the ground and took to the sky, the other two dragons following him close behind. Stoick eventually flew in front of Hiccup, leading the way. Hiccup peered over his shoulder, looking back at the shrinking image of Berk. He allowed his foot to relax a little since it was going to be a long ride. "Where are we going exactly, dad?" Hiccup questioned, turning his head back so that it was facing forward.

"The Island of Tomorrow," Stoick answered, shouting against the roaring wind. "It's where The Thing is held every year. The island's southwest from here. We should reach it by sundown if we don't waste our time."

Thornado let out a roar, resulting in barely visible ripples in the air. Stoick laughed wholeheartedly, clearly enjoying his dragon. "By the way Hiccup, did you finish reading Grimbeard's memoirs?"

Hiccup was silent for a second or two before answering, "yeah," in a softer tone. "It certainly was interesting."

"Good to hear it!" his father boomed merrily. "It's good for the heir of the chief to know the village's history!"

Inside his brain, Hiccup imagined what it would've looked like on that night where Grimbeard killed his son. Just the sounds of the fires, screaming and a quick sight of flowing blood sent a shiver down his spine.

Pushing the haunting thoughts to the back of his mind, Hiccup decided that he had other things to worry about. For example, he was already going to be the smallest at The Thing, so he'd better make a good impression on the other tribes in order to not making himself a laughing stock. All he had to do was show them that he had some skill in sword-fighting right? That shouldn't be too hard.

As if reading his thoughts, Toothless snorted in reply, as if to say that Hiccup had nothing to worry about. A grin slowly appeared on Hiccup's face. "You're probably right, bud," said Hiccup. "I worry too much."

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As sun set approached, the sky was painted with pink, orange and yellow. Hiccup slowly managed to make out the shape of a slightly mountainous island in the distance. It wasn't really mountainous, but there were a couple of very large hills. His back and rear end was aching a little from a whole day of flying.

Astrid and his father were in similar conditions. Their dragons slowed down a little. Even powerful flying reptiles have to get exhausted at some point. Astrid suddenly perked her head up. "Stoick, when the other tribes see the dragons, won't they attempt to shoot us down?"

"Don't worry about that," the chief answered. "The other islands know well that Berk has made peace with the dragons. And from my meeting at the Shivering Shores, word also kind of got out that we ride dragons as well. So they won't shoot us down."

"That's good to hear," Hiccup added. A couple minutes later, he managed to make out the island. There were around three hills, the valleys being on the other side of the island. Most of the hills were covered in forests and trees. But at the foot of the hills in a large valley was something that looked like a small village with a small pier. As they got closer to the island, Hiccup noticed that there were only two boats anchored.

Slowly, they landed their dragons on one of the wooden piers. Hiccup hopped off Toothless and examined his surroundings. In front of them was a small village that consisted of around a dozen houses or so and one large building at the other end of the village with a plaza in the center. There wasn't a lot of people on the island, only one or two walking around. They stopped for a couple of seconds to take notice of the three dragons that appeared on the island.

Stoick stepped in front of Hiccup and Astrid, breathing in a lungful of air. "Ah, the Island of Tomorrow. Pleasant weather as always." Indeed, Stoick was right. The air was cool and warm at the same time. Hiccup found it rather comfortable. Stoick started walking into the small village. Astrid couldn't help but feel slightly uneasy about the amount of people inhabiting the place.

"Where aren't there more people?" she asked. "If this is an important meeting, why aren't there more people attending?"

"The Island of Tomorrow stays uninhabited for most of the year," Stoick replied casually. "No tribe inhabits this island, but it does get residents once a year during The Thing. And even then, only the chiefs and occasionally the heirs will come to the island."

The dragons quietly followed their riders to a house to the right of the plaza. "Here we are," said Stoick, opening the door. "This is where the chiefs, heirs and representatives of Berk stay." The chief walked into the wooden house, followed by Hiccup and Astrid. Inside, the fire was already lit. Hiccup noticed that it looked a lot like his own home, except that it was larger. There were two beds divided by a small wall. To the left of the house was a set of stairs that led to the floor above. "The chief sleeps up there," Stoick explained. "Hiccup, you and Astrid sleep downstairs."

Toothless stepped in after his rider while Thornado and Stormfly stayed beside the houses, sitting down for a rest. Toothless curled up beside the fireplace and drifted off into a nap. Hiccup smiled. "You deserve it, bud."

Astrid threw her leather bag onto the bed on the right so Hiccup dumped his luggage onto the bed on the left. Stoick walked up to the second floor. Hiccup flopped onto his bed.

"Isn't this exciting?" Astrid asked cheerfully from her side of the room. "We're on another island, representatives of our island!"

"Yeah, good for us," Hiccup muttered sarcastically. "Mostly for you and my dad. I'm just going to end up the social outcast again."

"Not if the others learned that you're the Dragon Conquerer."

"Like they're going to think I'm the Dragon Conquerer," Hiccup scoffed. "I hear that the information says I'm ten feet tall with the strength of a dozen men."

Astrid laughed quietly. "That information is way off." Hiccup chuckled inwardly as he got out his sketch book and a piece of charcoal from his bag. He positioned himself so that he was leaning on the bed and looking at Toothless. Hiccup then began to sketch his dragon.

Eventually, Astrid walked over to him. Peering over his shoulder, Astrid observed Hiccup as he drew Toothless. "Is this what you always do in your spare time?"

"Not really," Hiccup replied. "Sometimes. But I'm usually out flying or sword practice nowadays."

The sound of heavy footsteps echoed in the room as Stoick walked down from the stairs. The noises woke Toothless up as he slowly lifted his head. Stoick walked towards the door. "Let's go," he said. "I should introduce you to the other tribes."

Putting down his sketch book, Hiccup got off the bed. He and Astrid followed Stoick as he stepped out of the room with Toothless tagging along. Stoick then led the kids and dragon to the large building at the other end of the village, the island's Meade Hall.

The sun was on the horizon and was about to set. The Meade Hall's massive doors towered over them. Stoick pushed them open. Hiccup found himself in a large room with stone walls and a stone floor. Wooden tables decorated the place with several vikings sitting on them.

Stoick headed over to one of the tables where a large bulky male viking with a large black beard was stuffing food down his mouth. Opposite of him sat an almost equally large in size viking woman with blonde hair. Hiccup and Astrid looked at each other before following him. Toothless trailed a little behind, feeling that the eyes of the Meade Hall were turning towards him.

When Stoick reached the two large vikings, they stood up and exchanged handshakes happily. "Stoick!" the man bellowed. "It's good to see you. How have you been this year?"

"Better than ever, Mogadon!" Stoick answered. As Hiccup walked up to his father, Stoick grabbed his son by the collar and placed him in front of himself. "And this is my son, Hiccup."

"Hmm..." the large woman began in a large voice. "He is a little small. And he's sixteen?"

"Almost," Hiccup quickly added. "At the end of this month. And I'll technically be turning four."

Stoick chuckled slightly. "Bertha, how have the Bog-Burglars been lately?" the chief then questioned.

"The dragon raids have efficiently decreased," she said. "We have slowly began to stop attacking them and it seems to be working."

"Ah," Stoick suddenly said, gesturing to Astrid. "This is our female representative, Astrid Hofferson. She's our island's teenaged warrior, handy with pretty much any weapon."

Astrid didn't pay much attention to the three chiefs, and was more of patting Toothless on the head. It was then that Bertha and Mogadon noticed the creature. "What is that thing?" Mogadon asked. "A dragon?"

"It's a Night Fury," Hiccup answered surprisingly casually. Toothless nudged his rider. "His name's Toothless and he's my best friend."

"Best friend?" Mogadon repeated. "Could it be that you're Berk's legendary Dragon Conquerer?"

"Trainer," Hiccup corrected in a slightly annoyed tone. "How many times do I have to correct that fact? We train dragons, not conquer them!"

"Incredible," Bertha breathed.

"It sure is. I can't believe it all happened in less than a year," Stoick added. He turned to the teenagers. "Hiccup, why don't you and Astrid meet the representatives of the other tribes?"

Nodding, Hiccup and Astrid with Toothless trotting behind them headed to another table at the other end of the Meade Hall where four other vikings sat. They were much smaller and all of them were teenagers.

Smiling, Stoick sat down with the other two chiefs. "He's changed a lot," Stoick spoke softly. The other chiefs nodded in agreement.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you something, Stoick," said Mogadon. "We're not the only ones on the island this year."

Stoick raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"The Romans have made a fort during the past year," Bertha continued. "But don't worry. They assured us that no trouble will be caused as long as we leave the other alone."

"That simple, huh," Stoick murmured. "Ah well, at least we know that they're not going to cause trouble."

Meanwhile, Hiccup and Astrid pulled up some plates with fish and sat down with the other viking teenagers on the table as Toothless laid down beside Hiccup. There were two boys and two girls on the table.

"Hi," one of the girls quickly piped, extended her hand out to Hiccup. "I'm Camicazi, heir of the Bog-Burglars," she said a little quickly. Hiccup looked at her slightly awkwardly before shaking her hand. "Hiccup, heir to the Isle of Berk," he answered.

"Hey, I'm Astrid," Astrid then introduced herself. Camicazi nodded energetically. Her blonde hair was a complete mess. She gestured to the boy sitting next to her who was eating his meal much slower than she was. "This is Hrani."

Hrani's blonde hair reminded Hiccup of Fishlegs. Hrani swallowed his meal before pointing to the other two teenagers that sat across from him. "That's Thuggory and Runa, Meathead's representatives."

"Nice to meet you," the girl, Runa, said to Hiccup. As for Thuggory, who looked like a jock which reminded Hiccup of Snotlout, stared at him for a minute. "This is Berk's heir?" he jeered. "I thought they could do better."

Toothless perked his head up and turned to Thuggory, growling softly. The young heir paled as soon as he saw the Night Fury. "I take that back."

Camicazi peered her head over the table. Her eyes lit up with excitement as soon as she saw Toothless. "Whoa!" she exclaimed. "Is that a Night Fury? I've never seen one up close before!"

"Yeah," Hiccup replied sheepishly. "His name's Toothless."

"So you're Berk's Dragon Conquerer," Hrani added, showing some actual interest in the conversation. Hiccup sighed. "I give up on correcting those rumors."

"That's cool," Camicazi chimed. "You can ride dragons, and on top of that, you can swordfight."

"Huh?" Hiccup answered idiotically. Astrid jabbed his in the stomach before taking over. "He can. And he's good too."

"No need for showing off, Astrid," Hiccup told her. A smirk meanwhile appeared on Thuggory's face. "Oh, so he can actually fight? We should spar some time."

"He'd love to!" Astrid quickly answered for him.

"Maybe another day," Hiccup hastily added before anything could get worse. He exhaled. "How about you tell us about yourselves," he said in an attempt to change the flow of conversation.

And so the teens talked. They talked about dragons, battles, their lives and some funny things. Hiccup found himself warming up to Hrani, Camicazi and Runa who were actually pretty nice. Astrid pretty much started a rivalry with Thuggory. She actually challenged him to a spar the next morning. To be honest, Hiccup enjoyed himself. He'd been laughing and chatting as if there wasn't a care in the world. He couldn't imagine a better life.

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Meanwhile, back on Berk and in Mildew's dark little house, another meeting was held between him, Alvin and Norbert. Mildew had a small grin on his face. "The good news I have is that the boy is currently gone," he said. "He's off with his father on an annual meeting. This is the perfect I chance I have to dispose of the dragons."

"But then that means that I can't kill him yet," Norbert added slightly disappointed. What the two vikings didn't notice is the idea expression on Alvin's face. "The boy is away is he?" The Outcast's lips curled into a sinister smirk. "Boys, it's time for a little change of plans."

_Current Date: February 17th _

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At first I had a different ending planned for this chapter, but then I would have to add a lot more so I figured it would be better to add it as another chapter.

Runa and Hrani are my original characters so they probably won't have much depth. Thuggory will probably not be very complex, but I'll try to make Camicazi how she is in the books.


	4. Fort Sinister

I hate biking trips...especially when I'm out of town where there's no internet and I have to wake up early because my mom won't let me wait in the hotel room alone so I have to sit there bored in the lobby.

Anyway, this is the forth chapter! For some reason, it seems like my first story was more successful. But who cares, I'm writing these fan fictions for fun.

I DO NOT OWN HTTYD! If I did...more shipping would be going on. :)

Again, this chapter has elements from the third book. I won't be able to finish this story unless I can't my hands on the tenth book that I can't find anywhere in my country, so it's going to be a while before I finish this story.

~Kyra (no, that is not my real name. Pen names are awesome)

**Chapter Four: Fort Sinister**

After tossing and turning in his bed, Hiccup opened his eyes and decided to stare at the ceiling for a while. His father had gone out with Thornado on some daily flying. Toothless allowed Hiccup to sleep in, which he had to admit he found a little weird. On the other hand, he could use some sleep.

Astrid wasn't up either. She was still fast asleep on her bed. Unfortunately for the two teens, peace and quiet didn't last long. Stormfly was waiting for her outside so she decided to take the opportunity to sleep in.

The door to their house suddenly burst open. "Hiccup!" a female voice yelled.

"Flaming sheep!" Hiccup blurted out quickly in surprise as he jolted upright. The noise also suddenly woke Astrid up. Hiccup rubbed his eyes before noticing that Camicazi stood at their door. She was panting heavily and her eyes were filled with panic.

"What happened?" Hiccup asked, concerned as he felt himself waking up.

"Hrani," she wheezed in between quick and short breaths. "Runa and Thuggory," she continued to choke out. Hiccup threw the covers of his bed and walked over to Camicazi slowly. "It's okay. Calm down, Camicazi," he said softly. "Talk to me."

Camicazi looked like she was about to burst into tears. She bit her lip. "Hrani and the others," she began in a quivering voice, "were captured by the Romans!"

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Stoick, Mogadon and Bertha paced back and forth uneasily in the Meade Hall. Some more vikings have arrived from their islands who wanted to get a chance to speak during The Thing, including Gobber who came with Sven and Spitelout. However, the meeting couldn't start properly unless all the heirs are present and accounted for.

"Where's Hiccup?" Stoick murmured to himself. "And Astrid."

"And my daughter," Bertha added.

"Not to mention my son," said Mogadon. Stoick averted his gaze to the Meade Hall's big doors, hoping that they would burst open any moment with his son, Astrid on the others with their dragons. "Where are they?"

"You wouldn't suppose that something happened, would you?" asked Bertha. From her slightly shaking voice, everyone could tell that she was worried about her daughter. She immediately reassure herself. "What am I saying. Camicazi and Hrani are Bog Burglars. They'll be fine!"

"And Thuggory and Runa are fearsome Meatheads! Those two wouldn't go down so easily."

This however, did not reassure Stoick at all. His son was Hiccup after all. And even though he was, presumably, with Astrid, Stoick was still worried. He needed to reassure himself too. "You're right," he said. "We worry too much. Besides, have you heard that my son managed to fight on par with Norbert the Nutjob?"

"Really?" Bertha exclaimed in surprise. "Stoick, you must regale us with the thrilling details while we wait for our heirs and the representatives." Nodding, the three chiefs took a seat at one of the nearby wooden tables as they tried to block out their fears of what might really be happening.

Gobber looked at Stoick from another table. The chief's eyes were distracted and solemn. Sighing, Gobber looked at the Meade Hall's doors. "Stop making us worry about you all the time, Hiccup."

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"You're crazy," Camicazi and Astrid hissed in unison at Hiccup who pressed his back onto the rocks of the valley. He peered over the rocks to see a large fort-like building. It's black color made Hiccup think of nightmares and the night. "No wonder the Romans call it 'Fort Sinister'," he whispered to himself.

"Hiccup, this is completely reckless. You do realize that we can just tell the chiefs about this right?" Camicazi reminded him.

"Yes, I do," Hiccup answered sternly, his gaze not leaving the fort. "But they're all so concentrated about the meeting. If they push the rescue mission until after, who knows what's going to happen to the others."

Camicazi leaned in towards Astrid. "Is he always this stubborn?"

"It runs in the family. You'll get used to it." All three vikings brought their swords with them. Astrid turned towards Hiccup. "You could have at least brought Toothless."

Sighing, Hiccup turned around. "Astrid, we're going to be facing Romans."

"All the more reason we're going to need him!"

"Astrid, we have only _two _dragons!" Hiccup replied, slightly forcefully. "If we're going up against an entire army of arrows and catapults, we're not going to stand a chance and be on our way to Valhalla before we could say our prayers. I had to have Toothless and Stormfly stay behind. We're going to have to sneak in then get out without being noticed. Two dragons aren't going to help us do that."

Seeing that Hiccup was determined, Astrid had no choice but to back down. "How did they get captured in the first place?" Astrid asked, turning to Camicazi. She pursed her lips. "We didn't do anything, really. The four of us were just walking around the valley this morning since Thuggory sort of dared us to go this close to the Roman Fort."

"Of course, it was Thuggory's idea," Astrid muttered. "I'm going to pulverize him later." She gripped the hilt of her sword. Camicazi paused for a moment before continuing. "Anyway, the Romans suddenly grabbed us. They demanded us for the secret of how to tame the dragons."

Hiccup groaned frustratedly. "Now I have to hide from Romans too? At least they got the taming bit right."

"Of course we didn't tell me him because first of all we didn't know," said Camicazi. "But even if we did, we wouldn't say anything anyway. They tried to kidnap all of us but I managed to get away." She paused for a moment before saying in a much more confident voice, "But I wouldn't worry about Hrani too much. After all, you can't keep a Bog Burglar under a lock and key."

"That's nice and all, but we still need to go rescue them," Hiccup answered then thought for a moment. "Since Hrani and the others are prisoners, they'll probably be locked in the dungeons. Then that means to free them, we're going to need to find the keys."

Camicazi started fetching for something in her small pouch. "You mean these?" She brought out a pair of rusty silver keys. Hiccup stared at them miraculously. "How did you get those?" he cried, taking them from her. Camicazi shrugged. "I am a Bog Burglar after all. Stealing's our specialty. And that guy that grabbed us was wide open."

"We might actually be able to do this," Astrid said cheerfully. Hiccup eyed her suspiciously. "Were you doubting me, Astrid?"

"Maybe."

Rolling his eyes, Hiccup looked at the fort again. There was only one gate, and that was the one in front. He pressed his lips. There had to be a way of getting in without being noticed. Looking much farther to the right, Hiccup managed to make out what he think was a wagon that was being pulled by yaks. The wagon's roof was covered with a thin white layer of snow. It parked at the foot of a hill just a good sprint away from where the viking teens were hiding. Wagons weren't often used in the archipelago due to the mountainous terrain. But there's on here. "Might as well hitch a ride," said Hiccup, finishing his thoughts. "Follow me."

Leading the way, Hiccup kept himself low as he ran across the valley with Astrid and Camicazi following him close behind. They crept up to the wagon as the driver walked away to spring a leak. "Let's give him a little privacy," Hiccup whispered as he hauled himself into the wagon.

Astrid and Camicazi looked at each other with concern before climbing in after Hiccup. Inside the wagon was dark and was carrying barrels. Hiccup crawled behind one of them and crouched down, staying out of sight.

"Can't you just sit down normally?" Camicazi asked him still in a quiet voice.

"I wouldn't believe that the Romans are idiots," Hiccup answered in an equally low volume. "I bet that they would check the cargo before letting it in the fort. Let's not take any chances."

Nodding, Astrid hid behind the barrel on the right and Camicazi squatted down next to her. The smell of wine and beer streamed out of the barrels. Eventually, Hiccup had to pinch his nose to stop the smell from coming in.

A few moments later, the wagon slowly began to move. This is the first time any of the viking teens had been in one and they all had to agree that it wasn't a really enjoyable experience. Hiccup had to continually push at the barrels whenever they hit a bump to prevent them from squishing him flat.

After what seemed like an agonizing ride, the wagon finally came to a stop. A roman peered his head inside the wagon, observing it's contents. Astrid barely had time to duck in time. She turned to Hiccup who mouthed "told ya", earning him an annoyed look from Astrid.

The Roman soon left and the wagon made it's way into the fort. It slowly came to a stop. Slowly, Hiccup emerged from behind his barrel and poked his head out the wagon. They were backed against a stone wall with a flight of stone stairs to his left. Hiccup looked around left and right. Seeing that the coast was clear for the time being, he jumped out of the wagon. Astrid and Camicazi jumped out after him, landing softly on their feet.

The viking then took up the flight of stairs that led them to a large stone corridor. "Now what?" Camicazi whispered. Hiccup thought for a moment. "Dungeons are normally kept at the lower levels to prevent prisoners from escaping. And suicide."

"Then it would help if we had a map of this place," said Astrid.

"You want me to steal one?" Camicazi asked, cheerfully. Hiccup hastily placed a hand on Camicazi who was just about getting into a stance. "Um...I think it would be better if we could stay clear from as many Romans as possible."

"Then which way do we go? Up or down?"

Hiccup heard that Camicazi's voice was a little disappointed, but he really needed to put their and the other's safety above all else. "Let's try going up," he said, running down the corridor until he reached another flight of stairs going both to the upper and lower floors. Astrid and Camicazi were just right behind him.

Running up the stairs that led upward, Hiccup found himself in front of a large wooden door. He pushed his ears onto the door and heard voices coming from the other side.

"You know, it's kind of strange how this floor barely has any guards," Astrid pointed out. It was then that she noticed that Hiccup was doing. "Hiccup, do you hear anything?"

After pursing his lips, Hiccup quietly pushed the wooden door open. He found himself in a room that was filled with steam that quickly filled his vision. Taking a step forward, Hiccup found that his prosthetic foot landed on a stone tile that was covered in water. "This is-?" he whispered, "a Roman bath house?"

Astrid and Camicazi immediately jumped back, bumping into each other. "No wonder the guard's stay clear of this place," Camicazi murmured. She turned to Hiccup. "We should get out of here too you know."

"Hang on a minute," Hiccup quickly answered after he heard some more voices. They now sounded clearer and Hiccup finally managed to make out some words. He pushed himself against the door and hidden in the steam, eavesdropping on the conversation.

"Are you sure about this Fat Consul?" one voice in the bath house asked. It sounded a little raspy. It was at that moment that something in Hiccup's brain clicked. It immediately told him that he had to hear the rest of the conversation.

"Of course I'm sure! That Outcast Chief fellow seems like a reliably person," boomed a louder and lower voice. Hiccup assumed that it was the Fat Consul. "He promised to leave us alone in exchange for the boy. Capturing his friends is the easiest way to lure him out."

"I'll have the guards search the perimeters."

Quickly, Hiccup took steps back, running into Astrid and Camicazi. He pulled them down the stairs as they exclaimed. Peering up the staircase, Hiccup saw a man in a robe as he walked out of the bath and down the corridor, not noticing the three vikings on the staircase below. Hiccup's breathing eventually calmed down and he heaved a sigh of relief. His expression suddenly became serious.

"Hiccup?" Camicazi began, concerned. "What's wrong." The viking heir furrowed his eyebrows. "Those Romans were speaking in Norse. And they were talking about an 'Outcast Chief'."

"Alvin?" Astrid pondered. Hiccup nodded. "I think he hatched a plan with the Romans. Is he still after me?"

"Seems like it," Astrid answered. Hiccup turned around and headed down the stairs. "We should get to Hrani and the others then get out of here as fast as we can. I don't want to think about what might happen if we got caught."

Camicazi and Astrid nodded before following Hiccup back down the staircase. They had to wait for some guards to pass before they managed to sneak down to the lower levels. Their footsteps echoed in the spiraling staircase that became smaller and smaller. The atmosphere started to smell like rotten flesh.

In the middle of the staircase, Hiccup stopped abruptly, prompting Astrid and Camicazi to bump into him. "Hey!" Camicazi hissed. "Watch where you're going." Hiccup impatiently shushed her. In the dim torch light, Hiccup managed to make out shadows approaching them accompanied with footsteps.

"What do we do?" Astrid whispered. Hiccup's hand instinctively went for the hilt of his sword. "We don't have any other choice. We're going to have to force our way though."

As the shadows just about reached them, Hiccup unsheathed his sword and stepped out of the shadows. A yelp echoed through the stairway as Hiccup found that he pointed his blade at Hrani's throat with Thuggory and Runa standing right behind him. They looked alright and uninjured. Hiccup lowered his sword and placed it back in it's scabbard. "So you guys made it out," he said. "But how?"

Gathering his guts and thoughts, Hrani held up a pair of keys. "You can't keep a Bog Burglar under a lock and key." Camicazi gave him a thumbs up. Suddenly, much louder footsteps and yelling could be heard. The sounds came from both up and below.

"The prisoners have escaped!"

"All guards head towards the dungeon!"

Seconds later when Hiccup whipped his head left and right, he found himself surrounded by dozens of Roman guards. Astrid and Camicazi drew their swords. Hiccup followed their example. He sighed before muttering, "I knew that was bound to happen."

_Current Date: February 18th_

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I'm still trying to figure out my writing style. I think my style is more or less reading and the story works as if it was a television series, like the mannerisms and the language usage.

What do you, the readers, think?


	5. A Not-so-fiendishly-clever escape plan

School's been really busy lately. We had Design Cycle Challenge and my team ended up in first place for research and presentation! Whoo! But I lost a lot of fan fiction writing time. sob

Fight sequences aren't exactly my best strength.

**Chapter Five: A Not-so-fiendishly-clever-escape-plan**

The six vikings pressed their backs to each other. Hrani and Runa, who were without weapons were pushed inside while Hiccup, Astrid, Camicazi and Thuggory were facing the romans with pointed spears. Astrid glared at Thuggory. "Shouldn't you be hiding since you don't have a weapon?" she jeered playfully.

"Don't underestimate a Meathead," Thuggory replied. Smirking, Astrid was the first to shot forward, eyeing a roman with a twin bladed battle axe. The Roman brought his axe down and it collided with Astrid's blade. Quickly, she swung her leg up and kicked the axe of out his hand. Astrid threw her sword to Thuggory before grabbing the axe and used it's blunt hide to whack the Roman in the face, knowing him unconscious. She turned to Thuggory who had a grin on his face. "Don't break it," Astrid growled.

Thuggory didn't attempt to hide his smirk. "Not guaranteed," he told her before shooting forward into the crowd of roman warriors. The soldiers jumped backwards in surprise. Hiccup was finding himself becoming excited. "Alright guys, don't hold back! We're going to be going home after this!" Hiccup quickly attacked the nearest Roman. Camicazi and Astrid charged a second later.

Hrani ducked as one of the warriors swung his spear at his head. As it flew over Hrani's head, Runa stuck out her hand and grabbed the spear firmly with a stern look on her face. She yanked the spear from the roman and slammed the spear tip onto the floor, snapping it. Runa stabbed the roman with the end, knocking him to the floor before jumping into the air and used the remaining pole to knock out three of the surrounding romans.

"Whoa," Hrani breathed, seeing the fallen soldiers. "You're good." Runa have him a smile before resuming to hold off the guards. Hrani grabbed the pole-axe of one the fallen warriors. "We're not stopping until we got out of here!" he yelled.

"Speaking of getting out of here," Astrid continued, swinging her axe at the roman in front of her. "Hiccup, you wouldn't happen to have a fiendishly clever escape plan would you?"

"Unfortunately," Hiccup began as he stuck his sword forward, resulting in the blade locking with four others. "The only plan I have right now is to force our way though." He brought his blade backwards and quickly swung at the romans' legs. As the cuts were created, the warriors were distracted by the pain and lost their footing, falling down the stairs. Hiccup knocked the sword out of the hands of the remaining two romans. "But we might want to get out of here fast. We don't want to be around when they call for reinforcements."

"If it's a path we need, then leave it to me!" Thuggory shouted as he diverted his attention to the romans blocking the staircase back up to the main corridor. Thuggory ripped one of the chest-plates the guards were wearing and charged forward in it, pushing through the romans.

"Hey!" Camicazi exclaimed while disarming a guard. "Don't hog all the fun you Meathead!"

Thuggory had a mischievous grin on his face. "Last one to get out of the fort is a rotten egg!" he cried before darting up the stairway. Hiccup stopped straining against one of the guard's swords before sending the guard's sword flying into the air and running after Thuggory. Camicazi and Astrid did the same. Hrani and Runa gripped their weapons slightly before bringing up the rear.

Runa threw her pole at one of the pursuing romans, sending him flying back into the others. "That should slow them down for a while," she panted. Popping up in the corridor, the viking teens find several more guards running towards them.

"Which way's the exit?" Hrani wheezed, running out of breath. Hiccup looked around frantically before sprinting to the right and down the hallway. "This way!" he yelled as the others followed him. Running towards him was around a dozen guards. Hiccup gripped his sword with two hands and brought it back before charging right in. He quickly disarmed most of them while Astrid hauled herself over many of the romans. Camicazi cut many of them, leaving them with bleeding wounds on their legs. Thuggory, Hrani and Runa running over the romans didn't put them in any better condition.

While seeing Astrid make her way through easily, Thuggory scoffed. "I think I can do better than that."

"We will definitely need a spar when we get back," Astrid murmured in reply. She turned around to see that Hiccup was already running down the corridors again. Sucking in their stomachs, the viking teens followed Berk's heir until they reached a large wooden door. "This must be the exit," Hiccup breathed, skidding to a stop. The other teens looked up at the humungous door.

"Great," Runa grumbled. "Anyone got any ideas on how to open it?" Behind them, the shouts of furious roman guards were coming closer along with the sound of rushing footsteps. Camicazi fetched around her pockets before coming up with some rusty keys. Hiccup and the others looked at her curiously.

"I'm kind of addicted to stealing things, okay?" she admitted sheepishly before sticking one of the keys into the lock of the large door. Thuggory and Hrani pushed their weight onto the door, forcing it open. The beams of sunshine flew over their heads. The vikings scurried outside and found themselves standing in front of around forty roman soldiers. Hrani groaned. "How many guards does this fort have?"

"Tens or hundreds it doesn't matter," Hiccup said slightly proudly. "Whatever the number, we have to take them on anyway!"

"Well someone seems confident today," Astrid commented, teasingly. Hiccup shrugged before he and the others ran towards the romans. Hrani was trailing behind slightly, a little reluctant to go on.

Astrid was the first to make it to the guards. One of them sliced her right arm, leaving a small cut but she ignored the pain. Astrid quickly knocked him out before proceeding to knock out many of the soldiers with the flat side of the axe. Thuggory was on fire as well. He was taking on romans twice his size and disarming their swords easily. Hrani held the pole-axe tightly. He whipped his head around among the chaos and saw that Runa was simply dodging the roman's attacks.

"Runa!" he cried, throwing his weapon to her. The girl quickly caught it and immediately smacked into the face of an approaching roman. "Thanks," she quickly said. Hrani nodded before sliding in between the legs of a large roman in front of him, plucking a dagger from the warrior's belt on his way down. Coming up on the other end, Hrani brought the dagger up as it clashed with another soldier's sword. He sighed. "This is going to be a long day."

Camicazi parried a blow from a female roman warrior before she swung her sword, cutting her torso. The soldier doubled over in pain just as she lunged at Camicazi's leg, leaving a graze on her arm. Camicazi winced slightly. Something at the corner of her eye stuck out. There was a soldier atop one of the watch towers. He held a bow and was loading it. Camicazi, using her quick wit and vision saw where the soldier was aiming.

As another warrior charged at her, holding out a sword and shield. Camicazi sidestepped before kicking the roman in the face and grabbed the shield. Looking over her shoulder, Camicazi saw a boy with a brown auburn clash swords with a roman soldier. She held the shield over her head. "Hiccup!" she yelled, earning the boy's attention. "Catch!"

When Hiccup turned around after smacking the soldier with his sword in the face a split second earlier, he found himself jump up and caught a roman shield in his hands. The shield was of simple design, white with a cross. Hiccup landed and turned to face Camicazi curiously. "What's this for?"

_Ziiing!_

A second later, an arrow buried itself into the shield as Hiccup yelped. Averting his gaze to the watch towers, Hiccup caught a glimpse of the soldiers aiming at them. "Arrows? You have got to be kidding me," he groaned. Another arrow hit the shield with full force, pushing Hiccup back a bit. He swung the shield around him and knocked an approaching roman out cold. Hiccup suddenly bent his legs as another arrow flew over his head. "This is getting a little too chaotic."

Shooting up straight, Hiccup forced his way through the crowd of roman soldiers with both sword and shield out. Holding out the shield, Hiccup managed to shield himself from a couple of arrows while his sword was continuously parrying blade exchanges.

After a moment or two, Hiccup suddenly found himself in front of a large wooden gate. It was closed. To his right were Astrid and Camicazi. His left had Thuggory, Hrani and Runa defending each other's backs. "Astrid!" Hiccup called, gesturing for her to come over as he slammed his sword into one of the guards. Astrid ran over to Hiccup. "You called?"

"I need you to pop this gate open," Hiccup replied hurriedly. Understanding, Astrid placed the axe below the gate and pushed the grip downwards, pushing the blade up which in turn forces the gate up. Astrid smiled along with Hiccup who turned to the others. "Gate's open, let's go guys!" he shouted. Thuggory stopped mid-duel and ran over to the gate. Quickly and without question, he crawled his way through the small opening the axe forced open.

"Come on guys, hurry up!" Astrid yelled as she noticed that all the guards were focusing their attentions on them. Hrani and Runa finished up five guards before running over to Hiccup and Astrid. They slid below the opening and Camicazi followed afterwards. Only Hiccup and Astrid were still left inside the fort.

Astrid hauled herself through the gate. Whipping her body around, she saw Hiccup spin his body around as his sword made impact with another soldier with a large axe. Hiccup's body shook slightly from the impact. "Hiccup, what are you doing?" Astrid hissed demandingly. "You want to hold them off or something?"

"Do I look like I want to stay around here?" Hiccup answered in a slightly panicked voice. Astrid looked at Hiccup. The boy had cuts and bruises all over his body. Parts of his clothes were ripped with occasional tints of red. He was in the worst condition among all of them, despite him being a strong sword-fighter. Out of instinct, Astrid reached down in between the gate and grabbed Hiccup's right foot and dragged him through, shield, sword and all. Hiccup exclaimed in surprise as Astrid quickly pulled him up by his suede leather waistcoat. It was then that he realized that he was outside of the fort.

"Let's get out of here," he said as he broke into another energized sprint. Hiccup was surprised he still had that much energy left in him. The viking teens followed him. Eventually, Hiccup began to trail behind. He held the shield high over his head and blocked a few arrows that flew in their direction. Moments later, the vikings reached the safe hills that surrounded the valley. After making sure that the romans weren't pursuing them and that arrows weren't flying anymore, the teens collapsed, all of them panting heavily.

"That went better than I thought," Thuggory forced himself to say proudly. "Wait till the others hear about this back home." Camicazi was supporting herself on her hands. Runa and Hrani were lying on the ground. Astrid leaned against the hill and Hiccup just face first in the grass. He turned himself over and stared up at the sky. His hands still gripped the shield and sword tightly. His breathing was quick and short and Hiccup felt as if his face was on fire. "We should head back," he wheezed heavily in between exhausted breaths. "The meeting's probably underway by now."

Even Astrid needed some tim to calm down after the whole escape operation. "As soon as we're sure that we're not going to get captured or killed in the next thirty minutes."

Unbeknownst to the viking teens, watching from afar was the Fat Consul that Hiccup was listening in on a conversation during the Consul's daily bath. The man was dressed in a large white toga. His gaze was fixated on the hills that separated Fort Sinister from the viking meeting village. One of his men, a tattered soldier quickly ran up the tower.

"They got away sire," he panted. "What do you want to do?"

The Fat Consult thought for a moment. "Did the boy take the shield?" His subordinate was slightly taken by surprise by this question. He hesitated to answer. "I'm not sure. I think so, sir."

"No 'I think so's," the Fat Consul growled, glaring at his minion. "Did the boy take the shield or did he not?"

"He did," the soldier replied quickly this time.

"Good," the Fat Consul answered. "As long as that part has been completed, the Outcast Chief shouldn't bother us. And he will have the power to bring us down, eventually." The Fat Consul chuckled to himself. " Personally, I'd like to see what is going to happen next." A grin appeared on his face. "Brace yourself, boy. Your destiny is greater than what you ever imagined."

_Current Date: February 18th_

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Finally, another chapter! I have so much homework to do and I still can't get my hands on the tenth book. sobs again

As for Heather, I'm going to have to wait for the end of this two part episode before deciding should I or should I not add her into the story.


	6. The Prophecy

Things get a little more interesting here. I think. Some bits are kind of boring, though. Anyway, I added some details from my previous fanfiction in as well. But you don't really need to read it to understand.

**Chapter Six: The Prophecy**

After sleeping face first into his pillow for the past hour, Hiccup decided that it was about time he turned over. Astrid was lying on her bed and looking at her sword, making sure that Thuggory didn't break anything vital. But she did cancel their spar today due to both of them not being at full strength and sparring wouldn't be that fun if they were exhausted. Staring up at the ceiling, Hiccup recalled what had happened earlier.

When they managed to get some strength back, the viking teens dragged their feet back over to the village where they were greeted by rib crushing hugs and ear splitting scolds. Stoick and Gobber ran up to Hiccup and Astrid really quickly, followed by Toothless pinning Hiccup to the ground and licking his face several times. Though the dragon was clearly worried about his rider's condition due to all the injuries Hiccup received during the escape. Gobber made sure Astrid was alright while Stoick gave Hiccup the whole "you're-the-next-chief-so-you-really-need-to-take-your-responsibilities-more-seriously" lecture before Hiccup was taken to the infirmary where his wounds were treated. It was concluded that the heirs would have to come again for next year's meeting due to missing it this morning. None of the teens were all that disappointed though. It means that they will have a chance to meet again. And for Astrid and Thuggory, it means that their spar would have to be done then.

It wouldn't be long before the tribes would have to leave the island. They had whole islands to take care of so they couldn't be away for long. At the island's docks, the Meathead and Bog Burglar ships were getting ready to leave already. Stoick however wasn't in much of a rush thanks to them having dragons. He even went on and on about Thornado and what that Thunderdrum could do to Bertha and Mogadon.

They seemed very interested, Bertha was starting to want a dragon of her own. Her daughter was no less excited. Camicazi said that she kind of wanted a Deadly Nadder like Astrid. Hiccup had to admit that he was a little surprised that Astrid didn't get all jealous or anything. Especially after that whole ordeal with Heather. But then again, Camicazi wasn't a mysterious girl who just happened to wash up on their beach. 'Heather, huh?' Hiccup thought to himself.

Lying there on his bed, Hiccup had a few bandages around him, mainly on his right arm and left calf. They were feeling much better now, but his muscles still felt like they weighed tons. Sitting beside his bed was the roman shield he took from Fort Sinister and his scabbard. Hiccup forced himself to sit up and picked up the sheathed blade.

A figure then stood beside him. Hiccup noticed that it was Astrid. She sat down on the bed next to him. "You feeling better?" she asked him, concerned. "You did take the most hits during that escape."

"I'm fine, Astrid," Hiccup replied, his eyes still on the sword. Suddenly, the door to their temporary house swung open violently to reveal Camicazi, Thuggory, Hrani and Runa standing there. Toothless' head and ears perked up when he noticed the viking teens at the door. Hiccup looked at them curiously. "What are you doing here?"

"What, we don't get to say goodbye?" Camicazi answered cheerfully. "We're not going to see each other for another whole year so might as well see each other off."

"That," Runa began a little shyly, "and thank you for helping us back at Fort Sinister. We probably wouldn't have been able to made it out with you weren't there. So, Hiccup, Astrid, Camicazi, thanks for everything."

"Don't mention it," Hiccup said with a small grin on his face. "Though I have to admit I'm a little surprised that all of you are still up and running all over the place."

Thuggory attempted to hold in a snicker. "Like I can be in bed for a whole day just because of that. Besides, you're pretty much the only one who's sleeping in, Hiccup."

Hiccup's eyes suddenly found interest with the wooden floor of the house. Astrid, noticing the slightly awkward situation decided to make things a little brighter. "So do you guys have to leave right away, or can you stay for a little bit longer?"

Camicazi peered out the door and saw that their parents were still talking merrily. The other villagers were also joining in. Camicazi smiled. "Looks like the chief's aren't done talking. So I guess we can stay for a little while." She walked into the house, followed by Thuggory and the others. All the vikings gathered in front of Hiccup's bed.

"That your sword?" Hrani asked after being quiet the whole time.

"Yeah," Hiccup replied with a slightly curious tone. "My dad got it from Trader Johann, so I'm kind of curious to where this sword came from."

Hrani held out his hand, gesturing for Hiccup to pass on the scabbard to him, which he did. The male Bog Burglar examined it for a moment, taking a good look at the scabbard and unsheathed the blade for the second before sheathing it again. "I don't know either," he answered. "But it doesn't look too special." Hrani nonchalantly handed the blade over to Runa. She looked at it for a second or two before passing it to Thuggory.

The young Meathead took the sword out of is scabbard and gripped it tightly in his hand. "It has a good feel to it, that's for sure," he commented before putting the sword back in it's scabbard and handed it to Camicazi who was standing next to Toothless. The Night Fury lifted his head softly and sniffed the blade before lowering his head back down and drifted off into a light nap.

"Why do you ask, Hiccup?" Camicazi questioned, handing the sword back to it's owner. Hiccup unsheathed the sword and found his fingers fiddling with the grip of the sword. He felt his gut tighten. "I don't know," he finally answered. "I guess I'm just curious."

Suddenly, Hiccup's right index finger was caught at the little bump at the tip of the grip. With a neat flick, the bit suddenly fell off, the small cork-like lid springing into the floor. Silence filled the house.

"Uh..." Astrid began a little nervous. "Hiccup, did you just break your own sword."

Camicazi squatted down and looked into the grip of the sword. She saw a tiny compartment in the sword's grip. "Um guys," she said. "Did anyone else know that this sword had a little secret section in it's hilt?"

Turning the open hilt of the sword to face him, Hiccup peered inside. Rolled up was an old piece of paper. Hiccup poked his finger in and pulled the paper out. Neatly, he placed the sword on his bed beside him. Runa picked up the lid and placed it next to the sword. Hiccup's stomach was flipping over and over again. Slowly, he began to unroll the scrolled up piece of paper.

"Are you sure we should be reading that?" Hrani spoke up in a shaky voice. "What if it's cursed?"

'I already read a secret history two days ago so what do I have to freak out about here?' Hiccup told himself on the inside. He inhaled deeply before proceeding to read the paper in front of him out loud to the other viking teens.

"'Dear reader'," he began in a clear voice which he had to admit was fairly difficult since he was very nervous on the inside. "'If you are reading this, that means the sword you have in your possession is my second best sword. Also, you will be the descendant of one of my two still living sons when I am writing this note'."

Swallowing the large lump in his throat, Hiccup thought back to the night of when Grimbeard the Ghastly killed his son. The son that bore the same name as him. Reluctantly, Hiccup forced himself to continue reading. "'My time is coming to an end. The era of the King of the Wilderwest will be no more. That is, until you complete this prophecy.

"'Yes, I have consulted a soothsayer and she has informed me that a new King will rise a century or so later. The King will be one of my descendants and will be destined to succeed me as the next King. This heir shall possess the King's Lost Things: the rarest of dragons, my second best sword, a roman shield'," At this point, Hiccup doing everything he could to keep his hands from shaking wildly. "'The true image of a chief and his son, my knife that I left in Hysteria, a ruby stone, my ticking thing, the crown and the greatest of them all, the Dragon Jewel. Once all of these items have fallen into the possession of one, the new King of the Wilderwest will emerge and rule over the islands. And the King shall rise on the hidden 60th day. I hope that you will certainly make a better leader than I was.

G.G'."

With a dry throat, Hiccup stopped reading and brought the paper down, still with quivering hands. The viking teens were all silent. The only sound that could be heard was the soft sounds of the fire flickering. Eventually, Thuggory was the one who managed to shatter the atmosphere. "What was that?" he whispered.

"A prophecy," Hiccup answered in the same quiet volume. "A prophecy written by Grimbeard the Ghastly, the last King of the Wilderwest."

"The King of Kings," Hrani added, absolutely astonished. "So this is a prophecy that will reveal the next King. After over a hundred years, another King is going to rise?"

"But that's not what I'm surprised about," Astrid breathed. She was finding it hard to keep herself calm. Hiccup was obviously having trouble too. He shifted uncomfortably. Astrid stood up in front of Berk's heir. "Hiccup, did you know anything about this?"

"No!" Hiccup replied much louder. "I had absolutely no idea! I'm as shocked as you guys! I swear to Thor, I did none of that on purpose!"

Camicazi was confused so she placed a hand on Astrid's shoulder. "Astrid, what are you so worked up about?" she asked. Astrid gently shook Camicazi's hand off. "Don't you guys see?" she answered, her voice anxious, shocked yet excited all at once. "Hiccup rides a Night Fury, the rarest of the dragons." She gestured towards Toothless who perked his ears up. "He is the wielder of Grimbeard's second best sword," Astrid continued. At this point, Hiccup gripped his hair tightly with his hands. But Astrid wasn't finished yet. "Hiccup even just took a roman shield from the fort! He found a knife with a weird carving during our trip to Hysteria along with a strange ticking object and brought it back to Berk."

"The King's Lost Things!" the other vikings minus Hiccup and Astrid all quickly exclaimed at once. Hrani paused and thought for a minute. "What about the painting that prophecy talked about?"

"Well," Hiccup began nervously. "I did find a portrait of Hamish the First with his son, which was how Hamish the Second really looked like."

"There you go, another item on Grimbeard's list," Runa added, becoming excited as well. Camicazi was beaming with excitement. "Hiccup, isn't this great? And you're the heir of Berk, right? A direct descendant of Chucklehead, one of Grimbeard's sons!"

"But then there's also my dad," Hiccup reminded her.

"But does your dad have the King's Lost Things?" Hrani added. Hiccup sighed frustratedly. "I don't want to be this King of the Wilderwest, okay? I already have enough over my head being a Dragon Trainer and Berk's future chief." Hiccup averted his gaze to Toothless. "I wasn't even looking for the Things. It's like they're throwing themselves at me."

Thuggory crossed his arms. "Then doesn't that prove even more that the prophecy is referring to you?"

"Maybe," Hiccup answered softly. "But there's something that worries me." All of the other viking teens exchanged curious looks. Runa turned back to Hiccup first. "Well then are you going to spit it out and tell us?"

Sighing, Hiccup took a deep breath in. "I found something about Grimbeard's history and his three sons." With that, Hiccup retold the others what he found in the secret page of Grimbeard's memoirs. He couldn't blame the others for being utterly speechless.

"And you kept all of that to yourself?" Astrid snapped at him, giving him a punch on the arm. Hiccup exclaimed in pain and surprise. "First of all, why did you do that? Second, I only found that out two days ago!"

"That's still no reason to keep it a secret!"

"It was written on hidden page, it was obviously supposed to be kept secret!"

Astrid folded her arms and sat back down onto the bed. Camicazi however, was deep in thought along with Hrani.

"What are you guys thinking about?" Thuggory asked.

"This worries me," said Hrani. "Thugheart was banished to the Outcast Lands wasn't he? I've heard stories that he became the chief. So have his sons," he explained. Astrid's eyes widened. "If that's true," she began, "then another possible candidate for the throne is-"

"Alvin the Treacherous," Hiccup growled between gritted teeth, clenching his fists. "Maybe that's why he was after me and the dragons, and why he was so interested when he found out that I 'conquered' a Night Fury."

"It's all coming together for you, isn't it?" said Camicazi. A grin appeared on her face. "You know, I don't mind if you're the King, Hiccup."

Hiccup eyed her suspiciously. "What do you mean?"

"This era is coming to an end isn't it?" she answered. "The era and the war between the dragons. Who would be better to lead the islands into a new age of peace and prosperity with the dragons than you, the one who ended the war in the first place! Plus, you've got the brains, you've got the skills, and you've got the Things!"

"No, I don't," Hiccup told her quickly. "I don't have the crown, the ruby stone or the Dragon Jewel."

"Then we're going to have to go find them," Thuggory added. "More like just you, but it sounds like an adventure so you can bet that I'll be tagging along."

"I'm not sure is your father going to be okay about that, Thuggory," Runa whispered to him. "I don't think Mogadon is going to be happy if he loses his only son who's on a quest that doesn't even originally belong to him."

"So?" Thuggory sneered in reply. "It's not like I'm not going to come back at all. Besides, this will give the new King an idea of how powerful we Meatheads are." Hiccup smiled inwardly while Runa sighed. "I give up. I'll head back to the island, though."

Thuggory shrugged. "If you say so."

"Wait, if this is an adventure, you're not going anywhere without me," Camicazi chimed in merrily. "Besides, I think you might need to do some stealing here and there, so you can count on me to do that!"

"I'll stay at the Bog Burglar islands to make sure your mom doesn't freak out," decided Hrani. Hiccup was finding it hard to not smile at his friends. Toothless lifted his body up and looked at his rider with an excited gleam in his eyes. Astrid placed a hand on Hiccup's shoulders. "You're definitely not going alone on this quest," she said supportively.

"Hmm," Hrani suddenly murmured. All eyes turned to him. Hrani looked up to face the others. "The prophecy said something about the 'hidden 60th day'. Anyone know what that means?"

"Maybe the 60th day of the calendar," Runa suggested. Hiccup thought for a moment while the others tried to figure it out.

"Isn't the 60th day of the year the first of March?" Thuggory asked.

"But then it's not really hidden, is it?" Hiccup reminded him. "But there is one day. That is the 60th day, and it only appears once on the calendar every four years."

"February 29th!" Camicazi exclaimed. "Makes sense. I hear it's usually only a quarter of a day, so put that in four years and you get a whole day!"

"Hold on a second," Astrid spoke. "February 29th? Hiccup, isn't that your-"

"I know, I know!" Hiccup groaned in reply. "Fate is playing it hard." Astrid and the others couldn't help but laugh at his comment. Toothless snorted and shook his head. As the laughter died down, Hiccup noticed that his friends were all smiling at him, giving him encouragement. He figured that they were right. The islands need a King to lead them into a new age. And that King might as well be him.

_Current Date: February 18th_

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Too long? Too boring?


	7. The Start of a New Journey

After watching episode 11(Heather Report Part 2), I managed to figure out when Heather will appear in my story. She was initially going to appear in this chapter, but since I was worried that Heather wasn't going to stay on Berk at the end of the two part episode, I had to wait for the episode until I could write.

I call this chapter one of my "boring, filled with story detail" chapters. Not really any action just going on. Kind of like a calm before the storm kind of thing. From here on out, things might get a little hectic!

**Chapter Seven: The Start of a New Journey**

Bertha and Mogadon weren't exactly pleased with their child's resolves, but it seems that all viking heirs shared a stubbornness trait. Stoick was a little concerned about why Camicazi and Thuggory was going to be hanging around his son, though when he questioned the teens, they all simply replied that it was to form bonds that will help even more when they become chiefs of the allied tribes. Of course, the true reason behind that was so that Stoick wouldn't stop Hiccup from going on that quest.

On the way back to Berk, Gobber and the other visitors boarded the ship and sailed back while the teens and Stoick rode back home on the dragons. For Toothless, carrying both Hiccup and Thuggory wasn't all that bad, especially when he had to carry his rider and Stoick around the whole island for a whole day. Stormfly didn't mind much with Camicazi riding with Astrid. But the thing about Camicazi, is that she talked. A lot. So it was very chatty on the way back. Hiccup and Thuggory lost count on how many times they thought their ears were going to fall off. Thuggory also lost count of how many times he nearly knocked the roman shield Hiccup attached to Toothless' side off the dragon. It was getting in the way of a more comfortable ride.

Hrani and Runa promised them that they would keep quiet about the whole thing about the King of the Wilderwest until the time was right. The other teens have tried to made it seem as normal as possible. It wasn't until Stoick was at least a good hundred meters ahead of them before Thuggory even dared to try to talk about the topic with Hiccup.

"So tell me, why are we heading back to Berk again?" he whispered against the howling wind.

"Well I left three of the King's Lost Things back at the house," Hiccup answered. "There has to be a reason I have them. No use going on that quest if I have to come back to Berk every now and then to pick things up."

"Are you sure your father's going to be okay about this?" Astrid yelled from Stormfly who she brought closer to Toothless. The Nadder squawked in response. Hiccup steadied Toothless' altitude.

"I know he won't," Hiccup told her. "Why do you think I have to keep the quest a secret from him? I mean, he barely gave me permission to go fetch dragons when Alvin showed up on our island. You think he's going to let me go on some quest we found in a sword compartment? I don't think so."

"I can't wait," Camicazi squealed. "This is so exciting! Who knows what we're going to encounter on this adventure. There could be snakes, and monsters and dragons and mazes and fireworms-"

"I've seen enough fireworms," Hiccup quickly added, accounting what happened on his previous quests.

When the sun was halfway down the horizon, Stoick and company reached Berk's harbors. Camicazi and Thuggory hopped off the dragons excitedly. "So this is Berk," Thuggory breathed while taking in the scenery in front of him. "I always thought it would be more...flat."

"Yeah, but the mountains are fun," said Astrid. "You can use your dragons like sled. We also sometimes go bobsledding but Bob's kind of busy lately so we don't really do that anymore."

"Literal, I see," Thuggory grumbled. "Where's your house, Hiccup?"

"It's on the hill in the village," the boy answered as he raced up the ramps of the docks. As he ran up into the village, Stoick stayed behind to talk with some of the villagers that clamored around him. The viking teens followed Hiccup, Thuggory and Camicazi staying close since they were scared that they were going to get lost. On the way up, Hiccup suddenly bumped into a large viking boy. "Fishlegs!" he exclaimed.

"Oh hey, Hiccup," Fishlegs replied casually. "You're back from the meeting already? How did it go?" It was then that Fishlegs noticed that Hiccup was covered in wounds. "What happened?" he immediately shrieked.

"We kind of got involved in a fight with the Romans," Hiccup muttered sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. Astrid, Thuggory and Camicazi ran up to him and Fishlegs.

Thuggory, Camicazi and Fishlegs looked at each other. "Who's that?" they all asked in unison.

"Oh right," said Hiccup. "Fishlegs, this is Camicazi, heir to the Bog Burglars and Thuggory, heir to the Meatheads."

Fishlegs gasped excitedly. "The son of Mogadon and the daughter of Bertha is actually here on Berk!" He shifted his helmet. "Allow me to show you around the island."

"We don't exactly have time for that right now Fishlegs," Hiccup told him. "We're only stopping by."

"Stopping by what?" asked a voice. Hiccup and the others turned around to see Snotlout running up to them with Ruffnut and Tuffnut trailing behind him. Snotlout's gaze immediately went to Camicazi. "Hey there," he said, receiving a blow in the stomach from Camicazi's elbow.

"Um...that was one of my friends," Hiccup murmured.

"Whoops," Camicazi added, trying to sound innocent. "Sorry."

"No problem," Snotlout choked out while clutching his stomach. "Astrid does it all the time."

Hiccup sighed. "Thuggory, Camicazi, meet Snotlout, Ruffnut and Tuffnut." The vikings briefly greeted each other. Hiccup found himself becoming impatient and started walking down the plaza and up the hill to his house. The other teen vikings followed him.

By the time Hiccup reached the door, he felt his friends' presence behind him along with Toothless. Hiccup looked at them curiously. "What?"

"You really want to leave right away?" Astrid asked him. "It wouldn't hurt to get some rest, you know."

"Wait, leaving?" Tuffnut repeated. "Where are you going?"

"On a quest!" Camicazi piped excitedly.

"A quest? Awesome!" Snotlout shouted. "I want to come too!"

Exhaling loudly, Hiccup caught the attention of all his friends. Thuggory and Astrid looked at him suspiciously. Hiccup took a deep breath in. "Snotlout," he began. "You can't come on the quest with us."

"And why is that?" Snotlout jeered in reply.

"You, Fishlegs, Ruff and Tuff and my dad are the only ones on the island who uses dragons in combat. I need you to stay and protect the island while we're gone."

"Protect the island?" Fishlegs questioned. "From what?"

"Why don't we go inside," Camicazi suggested, breaking the tension. "We'll explain then."

Hiccup opened the door and the viking teens stepped in. Thuggory and Camicazi looked around Hiccup's house. As soon as Toothless walked in through the door, Hiccup closed it. "Alright guys, long story short," he began before explaining briefly about the secret history, the battle with the romans, the conversation he heard and the prophecy they discovered. "And there you have it," he concluded.

"Well that secret history doesn't sound so secret anymore," said Tuffnut.

"This is serious!" Fishlegs breathed. "Hiccup, you're destined to be this King that rules over all the islands. And to do that, you're going on this quest that who knows how dangerous it is. Don't go."

"I have to!" Hiccup answered sternly. "If I don't, you guys could be living under the rule of Alvin!" Fishlegs immediately quieted. Living under an Outcasts' power? It would be living in hell. Torture, pain, maybe even enslavement and abuse. Who knows what lies ahead if Alvin becomes the King of the Wilderwest.

Silence filled the Haddock household for the following couple of seconds as the fire flickered. "So you want us to protect the island from Alvin if he tries anything?" Snotlout asked. Hiccup nodded. Snotlout stood proudly. "The don't worry. Hookfang and I are going to sink any Outcast ship that comes near the island!"

"Thanks guys," said Hiccup. "I'm really thankful for all of you. You guys know that you don't have to do this, right?"

"You're not changing our minds now, Hiccup," Thuggory told him. "We're already in way over our heads to turn back."

"Now the question is," said Astrid, speaking up for the first time during the conversation since Camicazi did most of the explaining. "Where do we start?" Hiccup walked up the stairs into his room. Sitting on his desk was still Grimbeard's memoirs. He dismissed the old book and shifted through some of the other pieces of papers o his desk.

"Drawings, drawings, drawings, sketches," he mumbled before stopping at an old portrait of a man with his hand on the shoulder of a much smaller boy. "Bingo," said Hiccup before rolling up the portrait in his hands and tied it with a piece of string. He walked up to the table beside his bed. Sitting on it is a weird circular item with arrows sticking out of it, emanating a soft ticking noise. Beside it in a small knife, on it's wooden hilt, an image of an amulet was carved. Picking both of the items up, Hiccup raced back downstairs where his friends were waiting.

All eyes were on Hiccup and the items he held. Hiccup took a deep breath in. "The rarest of dragons," he whispered before gesturing his head to Toothless. "Grimbeard's second best sword." Hiccup's gaze averted to his scabbard. "A roman shield." Everyone turned to look on the wooden shield that was attached to Toothless. "The painting." Hiccup placed the portrait of Hamish the First and his son into his waistcoat pocket. "The ticking thing, the knife." The two items followed the portrait.

"Only three left," said Camicazi in a surprisingly quiet voice. "Three more items until you becoming the King, Hiccup."

"And it all has to be done in ten days," he reminded her before chuckling inwardly. "This is going to take more effort than I thought."

"But none of these items tell us where to start," said Astrid, slightly annoyed and disappointed. Hiccup brought out the ticking thing. "Well for starters, I figured this thing's a compass. But it has five arrows. I don't know where the last one leads to." Hiccup looked down at the weird contraption, seeing one arrow point at around 75 degrees. "And the closest thing to a map is the portrait." Hiccup placed the ticking thing back in his pocket before unrolling up the painting of the Hamishes.

"We've all seen that portrait," Snotlout scoffed. "It's anything but treasure, let alone a map!" He walked over and tried to snatch the portrait from Hiccup to take another look at it. However, he pushed Hiccup who tripped from the uneven floor behind him. Taking the portrait with him, Hiccup crashed onto the floor, knocking over a container of squid ink that fell onto the portrait.

"The painting!" Fishlegs gasped.

"Hiccup!" yelled everyone else.

As the ink smeared all over his hand and the portrait, Hiccup got up with Snotlout helping. "Sorry about that," Snotlout muttered. "You're okay, right?"

"Yeah," Hiccup responded, wiping the ink of his hand with his green tunic. "I wouldn't say the same thing for the painting, though."

"Wait," breathed Ruffnut. "Look!" She pointed to the portrait. Hiccup followed her gaze and noticed that at the back of the portrait, the paper absorbed the ink. Slowly, lines began to appear. They were faint at first but they soon became much more visible. A dotted line, starting at an image that looked a lot like Berk. Following the line with his eyes, Hiccup noticed that it went through three more islands. "This is..." he whispered but his voice trailed off.

"A map to the remaining King's Lost Things!" Astrid cried in astonishment. "But why would Hamish the Second have a map that leads to the King's Lost Things when he was born after Grimbeard the Ghastly?"

"The only explanation I can come up with was that Hamish Two stumbled on the prophecy too and went looking for the King's Lost Things. He probably found them but decided it was best to keep it secret. At least, in his time," Hiccup answered. Settling the map on the table in the room to dry, the viking teens clamored over the table. They all examined the locations on the map. "Anyone have an idea where this thing actually goes?" Tuffnut asked.

Behind them, Hiccup already had his nose in one of the chests sitting nearby. He brought up and dusty map and placed it on the table next to the portrait, careful not to get the ink on this map. "This is a map of the Barbaric Archipelago," said Hiccup as he unrolled it.

On the map were hundreds of islands, some bigger than others. Right in the middle of the map was an island labeled "Berk". Near it were others such as Outcast Island, Bog Burglar Islands, Meathead Island, Hysteria. Hiccup shivered slightly just by reading it's name.

Looking back from one map to the other, Hiccup looked at the images on Grimbeard's map and compared them to the map of the archipelago. Fishlegs stood next to him and was doing the same thing.

"Well it looks like that the first island you guys will be going to," Fishlegs began as he pointed to an island with a large mountain sticking out that sits in the south-west position from Berk, "is Dragon Island!" Fishlegs swallowed a lump in his throat. "Makes sense since Hiccup was the one who blew up the Red Death. I've heard legends of a giant dragon that guards a treasure in that volcano."

"Or one of the King's Lost Things," said Thuggory. "That's island one, what's island two?"

"Looks like it's..." Hiccup ran his fingers through the map before stopping at a regular looking island a good way east from Berk. "...The Isle of Quiet Life," he finished. "That's weird. The Isle of Quiet Life is uninhabited. Why would Grimbeard hide one of the King's Lost Things there?"

"Uh duh, to keep people from finding it," Tuffnut answered.

"That's obvious," Hiccup grumbled. "But what I mean is that the island is filled with hot springs and geysers that make civilization impossible. How did he even _hide_ an item there is a good question."

"We'll figure it out when we get there," Astrid told him hastily. "And our final destination is?"

"Grimbeard's Despair," Fishlegs answered, pointing to a small island northeast from Berk. Hiccup blinked a few times. "Well that's a fitting place to keep that last of the King's Lost Things." He rolled up both maps up before putting them into his waistcoat pocket. He was surprised that they actually fit.

Slowly, Hiccup walked over the door, opened it and stepped out. He looked at the sky that was turning into night. To his left, he saw that the Great Hall was lit up. It was probably another large dinner. Hiccup smiled inwardly before turning back to his friends. "This is it guys," he said, feeling a surge of excitement within him. "We leave at dawn."

_Current Date: February 19__th_

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Well I definitely found that a little boring to write. The next chapter should be more fun.


	8. The Ruby of Dragon Island

School is killing me. In two weeks, I have to do two book reports for two languages, three Thai tests, four Mandarin summative assessments(those are really scary), a science test, an essay, a humanities(aka social studies) research project and presentation and other stuff that I'm freaking out about. If Middle School's this hard, I'm doomed during High School...and college...

And out of boredom, I randomly started thinking about another HTTYD fan fiction I can write. But I'll do that after I finish this one.

**Chapter Eight: The Ruby of Dragon Island**

Somewhere in the Barbaric Archipelago, more specifically on Outcast Island, Alvin the Treacherous sat, growling at an uncurled map of the archipelago. He slammed his fist angrily onto the map. "Where are they?" he growled. Slowly, the Outcast Chief rubbed his temples. "I've been looking for them for years, and yet I still can't get my hands on a single one of those King's Lost Things!"

Another Outcast quickly ran up to him. Alvin turned to glare at his right hand man. "This had better be important, Savage," he growled.

"We just received word from Mildew," Savage quickly told his leader.

"Oh? What did he say?"

"He said that the boy has returned to Berk and that he'll be leaving the next day at dawn. But he doesn't know where to," Savage summarized. Alvin thought for a few seconds. "Send word to Norbert," he ordered. "Tell him to get his army ready."

"What are you planning to do, Alvin?" asked Savage, slightly scared that he might get yelled at.

"We don't know where the remaining of the Things are," Alvin answered before chuckling. "But the boy is a walking King's Lost Things magnet. When the time is right, those items will be raining down on me."

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It was around noon when the dark island was in sight. Thuggory and Camicazi decided that they weren't going to get dragons yet, since if they did, they would have to bring them back to their island. And the heirs weren't so sure would their parents be fine with having fire-breathing reptiles running around their village. And if something were to happen, they wouldn't know how to deal with the situation without proper instructions. So for now, it's double weight for Toothless and Stormfly, along with a few bags of luggage.

As for Hiccup, he told himself over and over to concentrate on the task at hand. They were going into what should be a dormant volcano. Hiccup couldn't afford any slip ups if he didn't want to fall into boiling lava. Before he left, Fishlegs promised him that they would take care of Berk while he was gone. He had trust in Fishlegs. Snotlout and the Twins...not so much. 'I've got nothing to worry about' Hiccup reassured himself mentally. 'My father's with them. Nothing can go wrong'.

Astrid noticed Hiccup spacing out. "Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?" she asked him.

"Yeah," replied Hiccup. He landed Toothless on the rocky and sandy shores of Dragon Island. He and Thuggory hopped off the dragon, Camicazi and Astrid following their example with Stormfly. Thuggory and Camicazi looked around the island in astonishment. "So this is Dragon Island," Camicazi breathed. "I've heard so many stories but I've never been here myself."

"Any ideas on where to start looking?" Thuggory suddenly questioned. Toothless leaped ahead of Hiccup, who was a little surprised. The dragon nudged his head towards the giant gaping hole in the mountain, gesturing for Hiccup to follow him. "Is it just me, or does it seem like Toothless knows where it is?" said Astrid, slightly bewildered.

"He probably just knows the routes we should take into the volcano," Hiccup explained. "He did use to live here. Makes sense if we would follow him. Let's go." The boy jogged after his dragon who was already at the hole. Hiccup inhaled deeply. "Incredible what a bunch of rocks can break," he murmured, remembering that his father launched catapults at the mountain.

Before he knew it, Hiccup was standing in front of the hole looking into darkness. The other teens walked up to him. Thuggory fished through their luggage and brought out two torches, handing one to Hiccup and one to Astrid. The latter eyed him suspiciously. "You don't know what I pack," Thuggory grumbled.

Holding out his torch to Toothless, the dragon lit it up. Taking a deep breath in, Hiccup stepped into the mountain. It was completely deserted. It seems that ever since the Red Death was defeated, all the dragons fled the scene. Made sense since this was where they could be eaten at anytime. No one would feel comfortable living in a place like that.

As the viking teens, plus Toothless and Stormfly walked deeper into the mountain, the outside light began to diminish. Eventually, the only light came from the torches, and the sounds were the footsteps of the viking teens. Hiccup abruptly came to a halt. Holding out his arm, he blocked Astrid and the others from stepping forward.

"Hiccup, what's wrong?" she asked him. Hiccup took a step back, realizing that he was only half a step away from a sheer drop into the mountain. A few pebbles fell into the darkness. Hiccup swallowed his heart back down into his chest. "What now?" he whispered.

It was then that Toothless gestured his head to the right. Hiccup noticed that there was a narrow stone passage heading down into the mountain. Slowly, he walked towards it. "Someone was here."

"That someone was probably Grimbeard," Camicazi murmured. "That passage looks dangerous. Can I go down it first?"

"Let's just go down together," Hiccup suggested, taking the first step. Astrid quickly followed him. Camicazi and Thuggory were right behind them, Stormfly and Toothless trailing a little behind them. The heat from the torch and the suspense was making Hiccup's hands sweat insanely. He could barely keep his heartbeat under control. Who knows what would happen if he lost his footing. Hiccup peered down the passageway, catching a small orange glow down at the bottom. He immediately averted his gaze as his stomach flipped, regretting that he looked in the first place. There were stalagmites on the pathway, so it wasn't easy to walk.

Suddenly, a chunk of stone on the passage gave way. Exclaiming in surprise, Hiccup's left foot plummeted off the passage, followed by a scream as the boy fell downwards.

"Hiccup!" Astrid and Camicazi screamed in unison as Thuggory had to pull them backwards to stop them from attempting to reach Hiccup and falling themselves. Toothless however, immediately dived down after his rider.

A few minutes later, the dust, debris and noise from the collapse subsided. Breathing heavily, Astrid clutched Thuggory's arm as he held it in front of her. She pushed it away. "Hiccup!" she yelled into the mountain. For a moment, there was no answer.

"Astrid?" a voice called from below.

"Hiccup?" Astrid cried in relief. Stormfly lowered her head as Thuggory and Camicazi let out massive sighs of relief. "Hiccup, where are you?" Camicazi shouted.

"Down here!"

Gulping, the three viking teens looked down. To their surprise, they haven't noticed a small platform sticking out, not to mention that Hiccup was on his rear end looking up at them. Luckily for him, Toothless helped cushion his fall, and the roman shield the dragon was carrying was still intact. Beside him was the torch that had been put out during the fall. Picking it up, Hiccup had Toothless light it up.

"You okay down there?" Thuggory asked.

"I'm fine," Hiccup answered, standing up and brushing some dust off his waistcoat. His heart suddenly felt like it stopped. In front of him was a narrow little cave cutting into the stone. Hiccup ran his fingers on the stone walls. "And maybe you guys might want to come down here."

Glancing at each other for a moment, Camicazi walked over to Stormfly and brought out some ropes within one of the baskets they brought along. Astrid eyed her suspiciously. "You carry rope around with you?"

"For a Bog Burglar, ropes are essential," Camicazi replied casually. She secured one end to a nearby stalagmite and threw the other end off the platform. After tugging it a few times, Camicazi slid down the rope. Thuggory followed as Astrid got on Stormfly who flapped down onto the platform. When all four vikings landed on the platform, they all checked Hiccup for any injuries. "I'm fine guys, really," Hiccup assured them.

Astrid finally managed to direct her attention to the small cave in front of them. "Is this...man-made?" she whispered.

"I don't think so," Hiccup murmured. "It was probably caused by something moving, like running water. In any case, it's a small cave. I think Toothless can fit, but I'm not sure about Stormfly."

"It's okay. We can have her stand out here and call us if anything happens," Astrid suggested. Hiccup nodded in reply as he watched Astrid soothe her dragon for a moment. Thuggory peered over Hiccup's shoulder, glancing at the small cave that he sensed gave off unnatural heat. "Are you sure we should be going in there? It feels a little hot."

"We're in a volcano, Thuggory," Astrid sneered at him. "It's supposed to be a little hot. Oh wait, or are you scared."

"I'm not!" he retorted. "Hiccup, can I go in first?"

"Be my guest," the heir to Berk answered. Thuggory took a deep breath in before he stepped into the small cave. Hiccup walked in after him, followed by Toothless, Astrid with Camicazi waving off to Stormfly.

As the viking teens walked, the cave never got smaller. But still, neither of them spoke, instead, they kept their eyes and ears open for anything. Thuggory suddenly felt his foot come in contact with something and murmured in surprise. This quickly caught Hiccup's attention. As he averted his gaze to Thuggory's foot, Hiccup barely managed to make out a trip wire.

Quickly, Hiccup shoved the torch to Astrid, grabbed the roman shield from Toothless. Instinctively, he pushed Thuggory backwards. Holding out the shield up in front of him, Hiccup crouched down. The viking teens followed his example. Hiccup felt something fly into it, vibrating him to the bones. He groaned a little.

"What was that?" Camicazi breathed from behind. Hiccup stood up and looked at the shield. He saw that three arrows had pierced the shield. His eyes went back to the trip wire. "Wow, it seems that either Grimbeard or Hamish II likes traps," he grumbled before turning to his friends. "This is why we need to bring all of the Things."

"I see," said Astrid. "So you were worried that we were going to need all of them during the quest?"

"Well, if Fate had me run into all of the other Things first, then I guess it would be a sign that I would need them," Hiccup told her. Walking past Thuggory, Hiccup pulled the arrows out and secured the shield onto Toothless once again. "My question is, where did those arrows come from."

Camicazi pointed up to a small opening up in the cave. Following her gaze and squinting, Hiccup noticed three crossbows.

"Looks like it was only for single usage," Camicazi said to the others.

"Let's keep moving," Thuggory suggested as he once again took the lead. "I'll be careful not to trip on anything else."

"At least we ran into something," Hiccup began. "If there's a trap, then shouldn't it mean we're heading in the right direction?"

"That's a possibility," Astrid added.

'But what if this is simply a red herring?' was what Hiccup wanted to mutter out, but he decided to keep it inside to prevent anymore growing anxiety. That was wise, since the teens walked in silence for another ten minutes. Slowly, the temperature began to rise, along with sweating occurring uncontrollably on Hiccup's hands.

"There!" Thuggory suddenly exclaimed. "The ruby! It's right there!" As Hiccup felt his heart pound faster, Thuggory pulled him forward. In front of Hiccup, around a hundred meters or so was a bright red gem big enough for you to clasp your hand over. There's just one little problem: a tiny passage over-

"Lava?!" Camicazi shrieked, making Hiccup's heart sink down to his stomach. "We are in a volcano..." he grumbled before straightening out his thoughts. "So...who's going to cross that bridge?"

Quickly, the other viking teens took a step back. Hiccup groaned. "Alright, alright. I'll go." Looking down at the boiling orange lava, Hiccup gulped. His legs felt like they were going to buckle over any minute. Toothless came forth and nudged Hiccup softly, gesturing for him to go on.

Reluctantly, Hiccup started walking down the path. The passage was just enough so that he could stand on both feet. But one slip would result in him falling into the lava below. Forcing himself not to look down, Hiccup pressed forward as his friends cheered him on.

Sighing inwardly, Hiccup was talking to himself mentally. 'You can do this, you can do this. Just don't look down'. Unfortunately, the more he thought about it, the more he was tempted to look down. Knowing that closing his eyes would just make him slip, Hiccup reverted to plan b. He focused the majority of his vision on the ruby. He didn't dare look anywhere else. Before he knew it, Hiccup stood in front of the beautiful gemstone.

"Grab it!" Thuggory yelled. "Then we can get out of here before we get roasted!"

Reaching out, Hiccup easily plucked the ruby from it's place in the rocks. "Well that was easy," he murmured. As if on cue, the volcano shook so violently that Hiccup nearly lost his footing. The other viking teens fell onto their knees. "What was that," Camicazi whispered.

"Is it just me or is it getting brighter in here?" asked Astrid. She walked over to the cliff above the lava and as she peered over the edge, she noticed that it was slowly rising. The lava gradually began flowing upward. A large _crack!_ was suddenly heard when Astrid looked up sharply and noticed that the pathway now had a large fracture. "Oh this is not good," she grumbled. "Hiccup get over here!"

"Way ahead of you!" Hiccup shouted in reply as he darted down the pathway. He was too scared to let go of the ruby or put it in his pocket, so he just clutched onto it like there was no tomorrow. His metal prosthetic squeaked slightly as he ran but Hiccup couldn't care less. Astrid and the others were only ten meters away from him now.

Then without warning, the path gave way, making Hiccup exclaim in surprise. Instinctively, Hiccup reached out and attempted to grab Astrid's hand as she held it out, but he missed by a centimeter. In an instant with incredible speed, Hiccup unsheathed his blade and stabbed it right into the side of the cliff. Slowly, as the sound of crumbling rock echoed, Hiccup skidding to a stop with his heart still pounding hard. Looking down, he was still a good distance from the lava, but it was still steadily rising. He couldn't breathe just yet.

"Hiccup!" Camicazi yelled as she threw the end of a rope down. "Grab on!" Hiccup eyed her suspiciously. Camicazi furrowed her eyebrows. "I told you we Bog Burglars always carry rope."

Tucking the ruby into his waistcoat pocket along with the ticking thing and the two maps, Hiccup reached for the rope. As soon as he had a firm grip, Hiccup yanked his sword out from the rocks and sheathed it. "Pull me up!" he called. Slowly, Hiccup felt his body being lifted up. A few moments later, a hand reached out to him and he grabbed it. As he was hauled up, Hiccup realized that he grabbed Astrid's hand. "Thanks," he murmured. "Now let's get out of here."

With that, the viking teens, plus Toothless who licked his rider along the way darted through the caves. Hiccup was still breathing quick and short. He had that feeling that his eyes were going to pop out. As soon as they made it out of the small cave, Hiccup quickly mounted Toothless. "Thuggory, get on!" he instructed, gesturing for the young viking to get on.

Astrid did the same with Stormfly, throwing her leg over her back and reaching her hand out for Camicazi to get on. The Deadly Nadder took off into the sky, closely followed by a Night Fury. Hiccup looked down and noticed that there was a red glow illuminating from the cave they were just in. As the glow got brighter, Hiccup and the others flew out of the mountain, landing on the beaches outside. Hiccup finally allowed himself to sigh in relief. "I sometimes wonder how does Grimbeard booby trap all these things," he breathed.

Camicazi hopped off Stormfly. "That was awesome!" she shrieked. "I can't wait to till Hrani! I bet he's going to pee his pants when he imagines what it looked like with Hiccup falling."

"I can go the rest of my life without going through that scenario again," Hiccup grumbled. Astrid and Thuggory chuckled. Looking up at the sky, Thuggory noticed that soon, it would become dark. "Let's set up camp out here," he suggested.

Nodding, Hiccup reached into his waistcoat pocket and brought out the ruby. It was completely intact. For some reason, now that he had another one of the King's Lost Things, Hiccup felt that he was more energetic;stronger. He closed his fingers around the gem and smiled to himself. "One down, two to go."

_Current Date: February 20th_

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Hmm...maybe this wasn't my best chapter. But the story isn't over yet! I can still write chapters that are, hopefully, better.


	9. Guardian of the Crown

Most of my tests are over now. And sport's day is this coming Thursday! Yay! I'm not good at sports anyway. I prefer staying home and writing my stories. :3

I had just recently laid out the events of the story and I realized that I have a looooong way to go. I hope I finish this fan fiction. I have an idea for another one that I really want to start writing. Well enough about me. On with the story!

**Chapter Nine: Guardian of the Crown**

It's never a good idea to keep a man waiting. Especially if that man is Alvin the Treacherous. He sat there, staring at the map of the archipelago as if he was looking for something. He was looking for something alright. But it's just that somethings cannot be seen on maps. Though Alvin never would have thought that he was going to call _her _in of all people to help him.

Savage ran into the room, panting. His eyes looked like they've seen a ghost. "Alvin!" he breathed. "It's Excellinor. She's here."

"Send her in!" the Outcast chief growled. Savage slowly stepped backwards as a woman dressed in a ragged grey cloak walked into the room. The hood shielded her face, but you didn't need to see it to feel the presence of her sinister smile. "It's been a while, Alvin," she cooed, her voice dry.

"Nice to see you too, mother," Alvin grumbled.

"Well?" Excellinor demanded his son. "Where are the Things? I'm waiting, Alvin."

"I will have them soon," Alvin assured her. "Very soon. I just need to know the location of the boy."

"You mean you haven't killed him yet?" Excellinor screeched, infuriated.

"I couldn't! He has this uncanny ability to wriggle his way out of situations. He's done it with me twice!"

"Well there'd better not be a third time," snarled Excellinor, leaning in closer to Alvin so that he could hear every single word.

"There won't," Alvin told her sternly. "As soon as I get my hands on the Things, the boy will not see tomorrow. Neither him, or any one of his friends."

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After several hours of flying, Hiccup squinted at the horizon. He managed to make out the shape of a relatively flat island. Thuggory laid back while resting his hands on Toothless. He sighed. "Is that the Isle of Quiet Life ahead?" he asked.

Stormfly squawked in response, gaining the attention of Astrid and Camicazi. The two girls turned to face Hiccup who had a small smirk on his face. "Here we go guys," he said excitedly. "The next item."

Slowly, the viking teens closed in on the island. Eventually, Hiccup managed to make out the steam gushing out from random holes all over the island. There was barely any solid ground. The dirt was black. There wasn't any grass or vegetation. "Well we know it's a good idea to not camp here," Camicazi muttered. "Speaking of camping, the sand back on Dragon Island was surprisingly soft."

"Are you kidding me?" Thuggory groaned. "I think one of those rocks bent my spine."

"You're exaggerating," the young Bog Burglar teased in reply. "Hiccup, where can we land?"

Hiccup's eyes scanned the island as the viking teens began to reach the air above it. They lowered their altitude and began to fly a couple of meters above the steaming geysers. One suddenly shot up at Stormfly and the dragon lurched to the left, catching it's riders by surprise.

"Astrid!" Hiccup exclaimed as Thuggory yelled, "Camicazi!"

Astrid adjusted Stormfly's angle and the Deadly Nadder began to fly at a steady height again. "We're okay," she told the boys.

"Why, were you worried?" Camicazi jeered.

"Hey, the teasing's supposed to be my thing," Thuggory grumbled as he crossed his arms. Hiccup grinned slightly before eyeing the ground below them. Toothless looked up at his rider. Hiccup didn't need anything else to know that his Night Fury was thinking the same thing as he was. "You're right, bud. We can't land anywhere around here."

Looking around, Hiccup spotted a cliff. It was out of range of all the geysers so there wasn't any steam or fog. "There," he said to the others before turning Toothless towards the cliff. The black dragon landed softly on the ground as Hiccup slid off his back. Thuggory followed Hiccup's example as Stormfly landed next to them. The girls hopped off the Nadder.

Lined up, the viking teens looked at what lies ahead: a maze of geysers that were blowing up steams of boiling hot vapor all over the island. Steam clouded a lot of the island.

"Low visibility," Hiccup whispered. "We should stick together. By any chance we get separated, don't get hit by a geyser and call for help immediately."

"What if no one answers?" Thuggory asked.

"We will," Hiccup told him. "This island's not that big. We can probably hear each other if we yell really loud."

"Well that's reassuring," Astrid mumbled. "But we're going to have trouble finding our way around if we get separated. And if we all go together, we'll get separated with all the fog anyway. Got any counters, Hiccup?"

The heir to Berk thought for a moment. "I got it," he said, brightening up. "We'll split into two groups. Camicazi, you're coming with me. Astrid, go with Thuggory and try not to kill each other. Toothless will come with me and Stormfly with Astrid. If we ever need to call the other, the dragons will fire into the sky, or you can fly up. We'll all see that for sure. The fog decreases as it goes up into the air so it should work."

"Sounds like a plan," said Camicazi.

"And what do you mean 'try not to kill each other'?" Thuggory smirked, earning him a hard punch on the arm from Astrid. "We still have that spar to do. And I'm willing to go any time."

Chuckling, Hiccup patted Toothless' head. "Come on, guys. We've got a crown to find." Walking forward, Hiccup gestured for a merry Camicazi to follow him into the smoke and fog. The young Bog Burglar sprints after Hiccup, closely followed by Toothless. After a few seconds, the three disappear into the steam as a puff of water vapor shot up behind them.

Turning to face Thuggory, Astrid crossed her arms. "Well? You want to get going?"

Thuggory steps forward and into the fog. Astrid gestures for Stormfly to follow her. Apart from Thuggory's back towards her and Stormfly to her right, all Astrid saw in her field of vision were layers and layers of thick steam. It caught against her skin, making her feel all sticky and sweaty. The geysers huffed and hissed, throwing more steam into the air every couple of seconds. It was silent for the next couple of moments they walked.

Eventually, Astrid let out a sigh. As Thuggory dismisses it, Astrid stopped walking and placed her hands on her hips. Thuggory paused and turned to face her. "Is something wrong?"

"Why are you helping us? Or rather him," Astrid asked bluntly. Thuggory raised an eyebrow in confusion. "'Him'?" he repeated.

"Hiccup," Astrid clarified. "You just met him, what, four days ago and now you're risking your own life to help him in a quest that doesn't even belong to you? Camicazi as well. Why are you guys doing this? I have my reasons since I'm a close friend of his. But you guys don't have anything to do with it. So why are you helping Hiccup?"

Thuggory averted his gaze to the ground for a moment and remained silent. "To be honest, I don't really know." The young Meathead started to walk again, albeit slowly. Astrid furrowed her eyebrows, getting a little irritated. "What do you mean by 'you don't know'?"

Shrugging, Thuggory turned back to face her. "There's just something about him. I don't know whether is it his way with the dragons, or how his brain works, or just how I feel that he's a good person. But if there's anything I know, it's that Hiccup has what it takes to become King of the Wilderwest and not that Alvin guy. If Alvin is going to bring us an age of fear and darkness, then Hiccup is going to give us a new age. He could rebuild the archipelago as a place where humans and dragons live together. It would be an age of peace and prosperity. Following that reason, that future, I'm willing to risk my life for it. That Bog Burglar girl too, probably. There's just something about Hiccup that makes you believe in him. I'm sure you feel it too."

Thinking for a moment, Astrid thought back to what happened on Hysteria. She was about to be killed by Norbert when Hiccup jumped into the fight and saved her. Even though he didn't know whether or not he was going to win or lose, he saved her and engaged the crazy chief in battle. The determined energy he gave off wasn't like anything Astrid ever felt from him. It was reassuring. "Yeah, I have," she finally replied. "And I bet that was the longest thing you've ever said in your life."

"Maybe," Thuggory answered smugly. Laughing softly, Astrid, Thuggory and Stormfly continue to walk through the steam. Thuggory suddenly came to a stop. "What's the matter?" Astrid asked him. When she peered over Thuggory, she realized that they were standing in front of a large hole that looked very much like a boiling hot lake. In the center of the lake was a chunk of land. Sitting in it was an object. It shone dimly, but it was still obvious what it was.

"The crown!" Astrid exclaimed. Smiling, she turned to the Stormfly. The Deadly Nadder perked it's head upwards, shooting a brilliant line of flame into the sky. Looking back down at Astrid, Stormfly tilted her head slightly. "Good job, girl," Astrid told her dragon. "Now let's just hope Hiccup sees it."

Meanwhile, in another part of the island, Hiccup and Camicazi were talking and laughing while looking around for the crown.

"'Hictooth'?" Camicazi repeated while laughing happily. "Come on, Hiccup, you can do better than that."

"Well, I don't want to end up a 'lousy winner' again so I would prefer to keep things low," Hiccup replied. "It's getting a little hard to have all the King's Lost Things and not show them off to anyone."

"Don't worry, you'll get your chance to show them off," Camicazi told him. "There's always going to be the coronation. That's when everyone is going to see what you have done."

Hiccup paused for a moment. "But what if they don't want me to be King?" Toothless purred while lowering his head. Camicazi stepped up to Hiccup and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Relax. They will." Perking up a little bit, Hiccup allowed himself to smile softly.

Suddenly, Toothless' roar catches the attention of the two vikings. Whipping his head up at the sky, Hiccup managed to make out the fading of a stream of fire to his left. "Astrid and Thuggory!" he shouted. "They must have found something." Darting to the right, Hiccup took off in the direction of the fire blast.

"Wait for us!" Camicazi yelled before running after Hiccup beside Toothless. Hiccup had to pause a couple of times to stop himself from running into geysers. It took a couple of minutes of intense running, but he eventually reached Astrid and Thuggory who were still standing at the ledge of the lake. Thuggory turned around in time to see Hiccup running towards them.

"Stop!" he yelped, holding up his hands in front of him. Hiccup dug his left foot into the ground, skidding to a stop. Behind them ran up Toothless with a panting Camicazi. "Don't leave me behind back there," she hissed.

"Sorry," Hiccup murmured before turning back to Astrid and Thuggory. "So what happened, you guys? Did you find something?" Turning at an angle, Astrid pointed at the land in the middle of the lake. "That's where the crown is."

Stepping over to the edge, Hiccup peered into the lake. "That's just great. Any ideas on how to get across?"

Camicazi walked over to Stormfly and reached into the bags. She brought out some rope attached to a grappling hook. When she looked at her peers, they looked at her in a weird way. "You guys seriously don't back equipment like this?" Camicazi grumbled before throwing the hook across the boiling lake. The tip of the hook caught a large rock on the land in the middle of the lake. Camicazi gripped the rope tightly and tugged it a couple of times. "It should hold," she said before turning to Astrid and Thuggory. "Well you guys should help me."

Astrid and Thuggory then placed their hands around Camicazi's rope. All three pairs of eyes plus two of the dragons turned to Hiccup. "You're the one who's supposed to go across," Thuggory told him.

Inside, Hiccup sighed. He had to do the most dangerous bit. As usual. Toothless looked at his rider, slightly worried. "I'll be fine, bud," Hiccup told his dragon before rubbing his hands on his waistcoat, drying them as much as possible. He then clung onto the rope and started moving himself across the lake. Hiccup wouldn't dare stand. He wouldn't dare hand either. With both arms and legs gripping the rope, Hiccup squirmed his way to the other side. He felt himself start to panic when his palms were sweating but he tried to focus his attention on something else, like forcing himself to not look down.

"This is as bad as the lava," Hiccup muttered to himself. A few moments later, Hiccup found himself swinging himself onto the island in the middle of the lake. In front of him was a brilliant golden crown sitting on a rock. With his heart rate accelerating, Hiccup ran towards the crown. He was about to reach out and pick the crown up when he felt something move.

Hiccup's ears caught the sound of a small movement. He whipped his body around just to catch sight of something slithering away. It looked very much a tail. Hiccup felt his heart beat it's way up to his throat.

Suddenly, Hiccup felt his back slam onto the hard ground. The boy exclaimed in pain and surprise. Forcing his eyes to stay open, Hiccup noticed that there was a claw pinning him onto the ground. It was grey and it looked like rocks with pebbles. It was then that Hiccup squinted and realized that the pebbles were actually-

"Scales?" he choked. The claw slowly changed color to pale green, revealing the rest of the beast. Hiccup found himself looking at a dragon about the size of a Monstrous Nightmare with one of it's talons pressing on his chest.

'A Changewing' Hiccup's thoughts told himself. He immediately began to panic. He had never dealt with a Changewing before. He had only heard about it from the Book of Dragons. 'Come on, Hiccup, think. What facts would Fishlegs say?' Desperately, Hiccup racked his brain.

'Changewing, Mystery Class. Ability: camouflage. Attack: 9, Speed: 14, Armor: 1, Shot Limit: 10, Firepower: 12, Venom: 0, Jaw Strength: 2, Stealth: 20. Hypnotic eyes.' That was all Hiccup could remember at that point since he was too busy trying to breathe.

The Changewing lowered his head and looked at Hiccup who immediately averted his gaze. For some strange reason, Hiccup felt as if the Changewing's thoughts were entering his own brain, as if it was speaking to him in there. _Your name, boy? _the dragon's ancient voice seemed to hiss.

Hiccup gulped. "Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third." Hiccup suddenly felt the weight of the Changewing's claw loosen on him and then lifted off all together. The boy got to his feet.

_Hiccup? _the Changewing's voice repeated in Hiccup's brain. _You are, Grimbeard's heir? _

"Y-yes," Hiccup replied nervously and scared that if he were to give the wrong answer he wound be roasted alive. He could call for his friends but that would put them in danger as well. And there was no way for Toothless to cross the lake without Hiccup riding him. He was on his own for the time being.

_You're after the crown, one of the King's Lost Things. Grimbeard personally instructed me to guard it, in case someone were to use it for their own selfish reasons. What is your reason for wanting the crown? _

"It's for my friends and family," Hiccup answered sternly, slightly clenching his fists. "And I was also following this prophecy I found in my sword compartment. But I'm gathering the King's Lost Things to become the next King of the Wilderwest so I can keep it away from Alvin the Treacherous. If he becomes King, my whole life would fall apart along with the lives of my friends and family. Toothless. Astrid. My father. Berk. Everyone. I need that crown so that I can protect it."

The Changewing swooped into Hiccup's view, it's eyes locking with Hiccup's dark green. Hiccup had that weird sensation that the Changewing was sucking out his soul and swallowed hard.

_Not a lie _the Changewing finally said before it crept behind the crown. _Take it and succeed Grimbeard. Lead this world into a new age of peace._ Stepping forward and gathering his guts, Hiccup picked up the crown and hung it on his arm. "I will." With that, Hiccup climbed back onto the rope.

As he crept back to his friends, Hiccup turned back to take one last look at the Changewing. It slowly began to turn back into pale grey, blending in with the steam and ground, back into hiding. Looking forward, Hiccup could see Astrid, Thuggory and Camicazi pulling at the ropes.

"Hiccup!" they all exclaimed when they saw that he made it off the island. When Hiccup reached them, he brushed some dirt off him.

"So how was it?" Camicazi asked excitedly. Grinning, Hiccup held the golden crown up in front of them. It was a beauty, definitely fit for a King. Still grinning, Hiccup placed the crown into one of the baskets that was attached to Toothless. As he closed the lid, Hiccup realized that he was only one item short of becoming King of the Wilderwest.  
_Current date: February 21st_

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I think that was my longest chapter. Any who, Hiccup has only one item left! But the story is far from over. I'm really excited to write the climax. That is what keeps me writing!


	10. The Maze of Mirrors

It's Christmas break! Cue confetti! Well this chapter was considerably dull. But I decided that it would be a calm before the storm kind of thing. After this, things might begin to get a little hectic.

**Chapter Ten: The Maze of Mirrors**

Panting, Savage hopped off the small rowboat and up a stone passage. As he reached the end, the passage opened up to a cabbage field with a lone wooden house. An old man was standing in front of the cabbages and Savage quickly ran up to him. "Mildew," he wheezed.

The curmudgeon looked at Savage suspiciously. "You're one of Alvin's subordinates, aren't you? What do you want?" Mildew demanded, annoyed. Savage took a moment to catch his breath.

"Alvin requests a few things," Savage replied. "A brown suede leather waistcoat, a green long-sleeved tunic and designs for the boy's prosthetic foot."

Still glaring at Savage, Mildew slammed the end of his staff on the floor. "What does Alvin take me for, a market? What does Alvin need all that stuff for anyway?"

"It's part of the plan," said Savage. "If this works, you'll be able to get rid of all the dragons on Berk."

Hearing his chance, a smile crept across Mildew's face. "I'll have those things ready in a few hours."

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The morning breeze blew in Astrid's face as her eyes slowly fluttered open. Sitting up, she rubbed her eyes and yawned slightly. Sunlight shone in from the cave's entrance. Astrid and the others had found a cave below the Isle of Quiet Life that they managed to camp in for the night. Looking around, her dragon and the others were already up.

A figure stood at the cave's passage. Noticing his red-brown auburn, Astrid immediately figured out that it was Hiccup. On his shoulders he held a small basket. Squinting, Astrid made out that it was full of fish. As Hiccup walked into the cave, he dumped the basket onto the floor. Astrid looked at him curiously.

"Breakfast," Hiccup replied casually as he reached into his belt and brought out a knife. It was the same one he took from Hysteria. Handing it over to Camicazi, she soon began sharpening some wood. At another corner of the cave, Thuggory was taking out some firewood they carried with them back from Berk. With a soft blast, Toothless lit the small logs.

"Fire's ready," Thuggory said, turning to Hiccup and his friends. When Hiccup turned back, he noticed that Astrid was still looking at him with a worried look in her eye. "Hiccup, are you sure you're okay?" Astrid asked, worried. "You've been using a lot of energy lately, are you sure you're not the least bit tired?"

"Not at all," Hiccup answered cheerfully. "In fact, I feel better than ever!" Putting his hand into his waistcoat, Hiccup brought out the map of the King's Lost Things. "It's like the more of the Things I find, the better I feel. It's a little weird, though."

Astrid sighed. "Even if you feel fine, maybe you shouldn't push yourself," she told him. "In any case, let's eat breakfast. You want to make it to Grimbeard's Despair in a few hours, right?"

Nodding, Hiccup turned to Camicazi who handed him some skewered raw fish.

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Alvin sat there thinking. He had his hand on his chin. Excellinor stood beside him, her cloak still covering her face. "The boy has the Night Fury, Alvin," the witch reminded her son. "And he's one of the King's Lost Things. How are you planning to get it?"

"Since when do you ask for other people's opinions?" scoffed the Outcast chief. "But you do have a point, mother. Getting that Night Fury wouldn't be too easy. We can't take him head on. If the boy's on the dragon, we probably won't stand a chance. He could make a getaway in a matter of seconds."

"What you need is a dragon that would be strong enough to rival that of the boy's Night Fury. You have anything in mind?"

Thinking for a moment, Alvin scanned his brain. What did he know about dragons? What would be the best opponent for a Night Fury? "The second fastest dragon known to viking: the Skrill."

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For some reason, the air began to become cold. Cold air wasn't unusual in the Barbaric Archipelago. But when one island is much colder than the other when there isn't much distance between them, something was abnormal. Hiccup couldn't figure it out, though. Using logic, he assumed that he probably had something to do with the currents flowing underwater.

And in the midst of that cold was a small island. It was even smaller than the Isle of Quiet Life. Smaller and definitely more plain. The island was simply flat land with dark soil and a rock sticking out of the ground. Landing Toothless on the island, Hiccup couldn't see anything else. Thuggory hopped off the dragon and started scanning the island. "Are you sure this is where the map leads?"

"Positive," Hiccup replied as Astrid and Camicazi on Stormfly landed next to them. Hiccup brought out the map of the Barbaric Archipelago and dumped it on the ground. He then unrolled the map of the King's Lost Things and placed it next to the other map. Looking at the small round island on the back of the portrait of Hamish the First and his son, Hiccup looked back at the image of Grimbeard's Despair on his father's map. "They look exactly the same," he said. Looking up, Hiccup still didn't see anything that caught his attention.

"I don't get it." Camicazi added with a hint of worry in her voice as she looked at Hiccup. "What are we doing wrong?"

Something in Hiccup's brain suddenly clicked. "You know how the King's Lost Things have been used throughout his whole journey?" he suddenly said. "The shield back with the ruby, the knife with the wood, the portrait being the map. We've involved every single one of the King's Lost Things on his journey except for one." Fishing around his waistcoat pocket, Hiccup brought out a small circular device.

"The ticking thing," Astrid breathed.

"It's the only thing we haven't used!" Thuggory exclaimed. "So you're thinking that we're going to need it to find the Dragon Jewel?"

Nodding, Hiccup turned to look down at the ticking thing, but it was doing something very peculiar. Hiccup noticed that the four arrows pointing in the four cardinal directions were perfectly still, but the fifth arrow, the one he had no idea what it was for, was spinning around in circles. "That's weird," Hiccup murmured. "It was pointing straight before."

"Well what do you think it's supposed to point towards?" Camicazi asked.

Bringing up the ticking thing at eye level and tilting it to the side, Hiccup noticed that while the arrow was spinning, it's tip seemed to be tugging downwards. "The arrow must be pointing towards the Dragon Jewel," Hiccup deducted. "And since it's going in circles, my only guess is that we're standing directly above it."

"Wait, so you're saying we're going to have to go underground?" Thuggory clarified.

"Please tell me this isn't another one of your hunches," Astrid sighed.

"Well, it is," Hiccup replied merrily. "Now all we need to do is find a way down."

But what Hiccup failed to notice was that his dragon was already on it. Toothless snorted, earning the attention of his rider and the others. The Night Fury stood beside Stormfly in front of the only boulder sticking out of the earth. Toothless nudged his head towards the rock. Curious, Hiccup walked over to his dragon. Astrid rolled up Hiccup's maps before walking after him with Camicazi and Thuggory.

Following Toothless' gaze, Hiccup saw that he was looking at a carved round hole in the rock. Behind him, Hiccup felt the presence of his friends. Astrid then handed him both maps. Hiccup tucks them into his waistcoat pocket before bringing up the ticking thing, comparing it to the cut out in the rock. 'The same size, eh?' Hiccup thought as he slid the ticking thing into the rock.

"A perfect fit," Camicazi whispered. As Hiccup pushed the ticking thing into the rock, a small clicking noise was made. The floor below them suddenly trembled. Slowly, it began to move downwards, the sides becoming dark walls of stone, dirt and rock.

"Personally, I really wonder how Grimbeard sets up these things," Thuggory grumbled.

"Well I've seen Hamish the Second's traps," Hiccup answered sarcastically. "So this kind of thing doesn't surprise me all that much." Eventually, the platform came to a stop. In front of the viking teens was a cave leading into darkness.

"I smell danger," sang Camicazi. She saw an old torch hanging on the wall and immediately grabbed it, held it out in front of Stormfly who lit up the torch. Hiccup plucked the ticking thing from the stone and saw that the arrow that was moving wildly before was now pointing forward.

Camciazi held the torch in front of Hiccup's face. "Lead the way," she said. Smiling, Hiccup stepped forward and into the cave's darkness. As the viking teens walked, the sunlight dimmed and Camicazi's torch became their only light source. Hiccup's nose suddenly caught a whiff of something. "You guys smell that?"

"Smell what?" Astrid asked. "The smell of rotten flesh down here or the smell of salt?"

"Both," Hiccup replied. "But the salt bit is more important. Why would there be salt smell down here? It kind of smells like the sea."

"Hiccup, look at that!" Camicazi exclaimed as she pointed forward. Following her finger, Hiccup noticed that it was a large partly transparent crystal. Walking over to it, Hiccup ran his fingers down the crystal. Rubbing his fingers, he found that they were completely dry. "It's not ice," he said. "It's a large salt crystal."

"There's more!" Astrid breathed as Camicazi's torch illuminated more of the cave as the two girls walked forward. Astrid found herself looking at rows and rows of salt crystals. All of them clear and reflecting her own image. Thuggory placed his hand on a crystal next to him and stared into his own reflection. "I wish this handsome guy really was standing in front of me."

"That would be a real pain," said Astrid teasingly, earning her an annoyed look from Thuggory. Hiccup walked up to his friends as Toothless nudged a nearby crystal. Stormfly squawked, earning Astrid's attention. She seemed to read the Nadder's mind. "We should stick together. It's going to be easier to get lost in here."

"We'll just follow the arrow," said Hiccup calmly as he held the ticking thing in front of him. The arrow pointed forward, so Hiccup walked in that very direction into the mirrors of salt. Astrid and the others didn't dare spread out for more than two meters so the viking teens and their dragons stuck closely together.

For most of the walk, things kept silent. The viking teens kept their eyes and ears alert, in case they needed to react to something. Even Hiccup was living on his nerves. His right hand was holding the ticking thing while his left was firmly placed on the hilt of his sword. Throughout the whole walk, Astrid would mark the passages they took to ensure that they wouldn't get lost.

As the teens walked forward, they came across a few crossroads. Hiccup would always pick the path that was closest to what the arrow was pointing at, hoping that it would keep them on the right direction. Eventually, Hiccup found himself in front of a dead end.

"That it?" Thuggory asked. "We came all the way here for nothing?"

"Hold on a minute," Hiccup said hastily, squinting his eyes. Inside the crystal in front of him was a small bright orange amber stone glistening off the dim torch light. Reaching into his belt, Hiccup brought out the knife and stabbed it into the crystal. After a few minutes, Hiccup managed to get rid of a large chunk of the salt crystals, just big enough for him to stick his hand inside and pull out the Dragon Jewel. Just how he had found the other Things, Hiccup felt energy swell up inside of him. He had never felt better. Maybe except for when he was flying.

As Hiccup looked down at it, he started to notice that there was a small green aura surrounding the jewel. And it wasn't the only thing. Hiccup's scabbard started to gain the aura too. As did the roman shield, the knife, the portrait, the ruby, the crown in the basket. Even Toothless was gaining a bit of the glow.

"Am I the only one who's seeing this?" Camicazi asked, looking around her. Hiccup's gaze however, was completely fixated on the Dragon Jewel. Quickly, he saw a light cover him and Hiccup held up his hand to shield his eyes. As soon as it began, the light died down.

All around Hiccup, everything was white. None of his friends were there. Not Astrid, not Toothless. "Guys?" Hiccup called out. "Hello? Guys! Are you there?" In his hand Hiccup realized he was still holding the Dragon Jewel. "More importantly, where in the world am I?"

"It's all happening inside your brain, Hiccup," said an old voice behind him. Hiccup turned around to see a man with brown hair and brilliant silver armor. He had a scabbard attached to his belt and one pug leg.

"Grimbeard the Ghastly?" Hiccup murmured in astonishment. The man nodded. "Why Hiccup, you look just like my son. Maybe except for the legs." Even Hiccup couldn't help but chuckle at that comment. Looking into Grimbeard's eyes, Hiccup saw hurt and regret. His chuckle died off very quickly. "So it's true. You killed your own son."

Grimbeard nodded solemnly. "It was probably my greatest regret," Grimbeard told Hiccup. "It was then I knew what being the King of the Wilderwest would bring towards my family so I abandoned the title."

"But why would we need a King now?" Hiccup asked. "Now of all times."

"You, my boy, have changed history by training a dragon. The Changewing you probably encountered back on the Isle of Quiet Life was the only dragon that didn't try to kill me that I did not kill. It was then I learned that dragons are not what we thought they were, just like how I thought I knew my treacherous son, Thugheart. But it was too late for me. I was already very old. I couldn't change things if I wanted to.

"But you, Hiccup, have already done great things and at such a young age. I have to admit, I'm jealous. Your new skills and intelligence is exactly what the Barbaric Archipelago needs for it flourish unlike ever before." Grimbeard stepped forward and placed both his hands on Hiccup's shoulders.

"Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third," Grimbeard began. "You have found and gathered all of the King's Lost Things, and I deem you worthy of becoming King of the Wilderwest."

With that, Grimbeard's image in front of Hiccup slowly vanished, leaving the boy speechless. The whiteness around Hiccup slowly faded away. "Hiccup," called a voice that seemed so distant that it was almost like an echo. "Hiccup!" the voice snapped and Hiccup found himself looking directly as Astrid.

"Hiccup, are you alright?" she asked. "You were spacing out for a while there."

"I'm fine, Astrid," Hiccup answered. He then noticed that all the King's Lost Things still had the soft green aura surrounding them, but it was barely visible. Smiling, Hiccup climbed onto Toothless. "Come on," he said. "We should probably get out of here."

The viking teens mounted their dragons and decided to take the easy way, flying out of the cave. All the mirrors were a little distracting but Hiccup managed to keep his focus. Eventually, Toothless and Stormfly flew out the caves. Seeing how the sun was just about to set, Hiccup landed Toothless on the island's dark surface. "Let's just camp here for the night," he suggested. No one else objected to that.

Now, things would be nice if the whole story ended there. Hiccup now had all of the King's Lost Things. He could simply get a coronation and become the King by tomorrow. But unfortunately for our little hiccup, Fate has something else in mind for him. Something that will test our hero's strength, power, will, intelligence and heart...

_Current Date: February 22nd _

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I'm really sorry if you expecting a lot of action in this chapter. But I wanted to keep it calm since hell might break loose in the next chapter. :3


	11. Strength of a Hiccup

No homework for three weeks means fan fiction writing time for three weeks! I'll probably be doing other stuff too, but writing this fan fic is definitely going to be one of my priorities.

If I do say so myself, I think this is where things start to get a little crazy. I wonder are any of you itching to find out what Alvin and Excellinor's plan is...

And as a little extra note, one of my friends suddenly felt like doing a cover for this story! Credits to my friend, kippiewasakka! Visit her deviantart!

**Chapter Eleven: Strength of a Hiccup**

To say Alvin was impatient would be an understatement. The Outcast Chief paced back and forth, waiting for the report with Excellinor standing nearby. Soon enough, Savage came running in like he normally does.

"Mildew has the supplies ready, Alvin," Savage panted. It seems that he is constantly running around all over the place, but his boss couldn't care less. Alvin allowed a smile of satisfaction curl up his lips.

"Good. How are Nobert's troops coming?" Alvin then asked.

"He said that they're just about ready. His fleet should be able to set sail at any minute," answered Savage.

"What about our fleet?" Excellinor suddenly questioned. "Are we ready to set sail?"

"At your commands," said Savage.

"Perfect," said Alvin. "Everything is going according to plan. And you are positive this is going to work, mother?"

"But of course," Excellinor replied calmly. "The boy is not going to simply hand us the Night Fury. And barging in for the dragon would be reckless. No, no, no. First, we have to weaken the boy."

"And how do we do that?" Alvin asked furthur.

Excellinor smiled sinisterly. "It's all in the King's Lost Things. The more of the Things one of the possible heirs have, the more strength it gives them. They dull fatigue as well. If the wielder rests, there wouldn't be a problem. But with hunting down the remaining of the King's Lost Things the boy doesn't have, he must be exhausted. We simply take the Things from the boy and he'll easily fall to his knees."

The witch then turned to Savage. "Tell Fleet A to set sail immediately."

"Yes ma'am!"

_Current Date: February 22nd _

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Meanwhile, in the middle of the night on the tiny island of Grimbeard's Despair...

An ear-deafening roar echoed throughout the island. Hiccup's eyes immediately jolted open. The sight he saw in front of him filled his heart with fear. Toothless suddenly forced backwards. Hiccup barely managed to make out the ropes that wrapped themselves around the dragon.

Astrid, Thuggory and Camicazi all suddenly woke up. The four viking teens looked at the scene in front of them. There was even a muzzle covering his mouth, preventing the dragon from firing any attacks.

"Toothless!" Hiccup cried. As he felt sleep leave him, Hiccup scrambled clumsily to his feet, preparing to run straight towards his dragon. He attempted t to draw his sword when suddenly, two large muscular arms forced Hiccup's arms behind his back, making the boy exclaim in surprise. Looking up, Hiccup came face to face with-

"Savage," Hiccup scowled.

"Surprise," the Outcast replied merrily. Panic suddenly hitting Hiccup, he whipped his head towards his friends, all of them being surrounded by at least five Outcast men. 'We're separated from each other' thought Hiccup to himself.

Another Outcast stepped in front of Hiccup. Savage pulled Hiccup's arms harder, forcing Hiccup to Outcast in front of him reached into Hiccup's waistcoat pocket.

"What are you-" Hiccup started to demand forcefully, only to be met with a hard punch on the stomach, making him lurch forward.

"Hiccup!" cried the other viking teens. Astrid's left arm was caught by an Outcast and she kicked an approaching one in the crotch. Camicazi drew her sword as her back was pressed against Thuggory's.

"What do we do now?" Camicazi squeaked.

"What else _can _we do? We have to fight back." Thuggory answered her, drawing out his sword as well. "Hiccup!" the Meathead heir yelled.

After fishing through Hiccup's waistcoat pocket, the Outcast brought out the Ruby, the maps, the ticking thing and the Dragon Jewel. "I'll be taking this, thank you," said the Outcast as he plucked Hiccup's knife from his belt. Hiccup felt his face burn up with rage and struggled harder against Savage's grip.

Quickly, another swarm of Outcasts made their way towards Toothless. The Night Fury fought against the massive strength and numbers of men and failed as an Outcast opened one of the baskets and took out the golden crown. Slowly, the soft green aura surrounding the King's Lost Things began to fade and disappeared completely.

Hiccup, in an instant, felt light headed as his knees buckled. A large wave of exhaustion covered his entire body. Savage chuckled sinisterly. "Looks like that witch was spot on."

Even though he was incredibly tired, Hiccup gritted his teeth. 'What is he talking about?' Hiccup shouted to himself mentally. 'What's going on? Why do I feel so weak!'

"Great work boys," said Savage. "Now let's get the dragon and get out of here."

Hiccup's eyes suddenly widened. 'Toothless...' The swarm of Outcasts closed in on the Night Fury, bringing in a platform that was going to chain the dragon down. Hiccup watched in disbelief and horror as the binds were tightened around his dragon. Hiccup was gritting his teeth so hard that he was feeling pain.

Savage raised an eyebrow in confusion. Softly, he began to feel Hiccup's strength against his grip on the boy. "You're coming with us," Savage said to Hiccup. "Resistance is futile, boy."

Turning his head slightly, Hiccup's gaze locked with Savage. The dark green eyes filled with pure anger and determination startled the Outcast as Hiccup struggled to pull his arms free. "Don't you dare touch my dragon!" Hiccup roared as a sudden burst of energy surged within him. With one big effort, Hiccup ripped his arms free of Savage's grasp and quickly drew his blade. Shooting forward, Hiccup slammed the hilt of his sword into Savage's stomach before darting towards the group of Outcasts surrounding his dragon.

Hiccup swung his left arm forward, effectively taking several Outcasts by surprise. Shoving them out of the way, Hiccup managed to make his way to Toothless. His legs were barely able to support his weight and his vision was fuzzy. Hiccup felt his arms ache but he couldn't care less.

A second later, Thuggory let out a war cry the top of his lungs and he and Camicazi pushed through the surrounding Outcasts, soon followed by Astrid from the opposite direction. Astrid launched herself into the air, coming down and parrying a blow against an Outcast, pushing him backwards as she landed next to Hiccup. "We'll hold them off!" she shouted as Thuggory and Camicazi came to her side. "Hiccup, you free Toothless!"

Not hesitating for a single moment, Hiccup turned to the tied up Toothless, immediately using his sword to cut through the ropes. With every second that passed, Hiccup felt worse and worse. It took an increasing amount of effort to not to fall to his knees.

Camicazi, Thuggory and Astrid protected Hiccup and Toothless from all sides, parrying blows, knocking out and wounding Outcasts. With a _snap! _the last of Toothless' binds were broken. The Night Fury roared before leaping off the ground and landed in front of the viking teens. With a swift fire blast, the dragon blew several Outcasts backwards.

"Retreat!" ordered a panicked Savage. Immediately, the Outcasts followed his demand. "Get back to Outcast Island! Deliver the King's Lost Things by order of King Alvin!"

Savage's last words completely caught Hiccup off guard. "King Alvin?!" he exclaimed, shocked and furious at the same time. Savage smiled. "Yes, our leader has declared himself King of the Wilderwest. And he will be once he has these things." As if Savage was showing off, the Outcast waved the Dragon Jewel at Hiccup before following his fellow Outcasts, earning him a ferocious roar from Toothless.

"You're not going anywhere!" Hiccup barely managed to choke out. Slowly, the hilt of his sword slipped out of his hands as Hiccup's body fell limp onto the floor.

"Hiccup!" cried all the viking teens. Astrid ran forward, narrowly being able to catch Hiccup in her arms. She could feel his soft breathing against her skin. His eyes were closed and the only movement from the rise and fall of Hiccup's chest. Softly, Astrid set Hiccup's body down on the ground as Toothless used his nose to gently nudge his rider, purring. Hiccup wouldn't even flinch.

Thuggory clenched his fists in anger. "Let me at those sons of trolls!" he yelled. "I'm going to show them." He turned to leave when Camicazi's arm shot forward and grabbed his. Turning around, Thuggory's strong eyes met Camicazi's worried gaze. Seeing his friend in such a state, Thuggory's expression softened.

"I know I'm not Hiccup," Camicazi began softly, "but I'm sure he'd say that it would be reckless. It's not worth it." Camicazi eased her grip on Thuggory who sighed. Reluctantly, he sheathed his blade and sat down cross-legged on the floor. "What do we do now?"

Astrid's gaze averted from Thuggory to Hiccup. There's not much they can do, apart from caring for their fallen friend.

_Current Date: February 23rd _

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Almost two full days after the raid, Astrid, Thuggory and Camicazi had remained on the island of Grimbeard's Despair, though they had felt like renaming it "Hiccup's Despair" several times. The teens constantly caught fresh fish and limited their water which was now beginning to run low.

The sun was just touching the horizon when Thuggory returned with some fish. Astrid had flown to a nearby island, filling up containers filled with fresh water and brought back firewood on Stormfly. With Hiccup out of commission, no one could operate Toothless' tail. And if they were going to try, the island was too small for them to safely practice and not risk drowning.

The teens were mostly silent during this time, occasionally talking to try to lift up each other's spirits. But seeing Hiccup unconscious against a curled up Toothless, not much could be said to lighten up the atmosphere.

Thuggory handed some skewered fish over to Camicazi who had just finished preparing the fire. "Here," said Thuggory, emotionless. His expression said it too. He was worried. Camicazi refused to take the fish. "Come on, guys," she said, getting up to her feet. "Look at us. Think about it, what would Hiccup say if he were up?"

Suddenly, a groaning sound came from nearby Toothless as Hiccup's body started to stir.

"Apparently that," piped Astrid excitedly. She and the other teens rushed over to Hiccup, all of them immediately brightening.

For Hiccup, he felt like someone was hitting him on the head repeatedly. Moaning softly, Hiccup allowed his eyes to flutter open, caught surprise by the face of his friends and Toothless looking down towards him.

"Hiccup!" the viking teens breathed. Slowly, Hiccup shifted himself up into a sitting position. "Aw man, everything hurts," he groaned. "What happened?"

"You collapsed after the Outcast Raid," Astrid answered him. "You were out for almost two whole days."

"Two days?!" Hiccup repeated, shocked. "Man, I must have been really exhausted." He was suddenly greeted with a lick on the face from Toothless. "I guess I worried you too, bud."

"Yeah, you did," added Thuggory, getting his smug tone back into his expressions. "Fish?" The Meathead handed the fish on a stick towards Hiccup who looked at it. "Uh...cook it first and I'll reconsider."

Nodding, Thuggory headed over to the fire. Getting up, Hiccup nearly fell over again but he forced himself to stand. A little unsteadily, Hiccup made his way to the fire. As Thuggory cooked the caught fish, Astrid and Camicazi were talking merrily now that Hiccup was back on his feet. One by one, the viking teens started to eat dinner.

Hiccup however, apart from eating half the fish, stayed still and silent during the whole dinner. He didn't look up or made eye contact with any one of his friends. Even Toothless was starting to worry again and crept up behind his rider's back.

Camicazi and Astrid were sitting beside him and Thuggory across the fire. Noticing Hiccup's behavior, Camicazi decided to speak up. "Hiccup, are you okay? Is something wrong?"

"I'm sorry," Hiccup replied, barely a whisper. His response clearly confused his friends.

"You're sorry?" Thuggory scoffed. "For what? If it's for blacking out for nearly two days, don't worry about it. We all reach our limits eventually."

For a moment, Hiccup didn't say anything, the only sound coming from the flickering fire. The sun had just gone down, painting the sky in a dark blue color. "I'm sorry," Hiccup said again in a slightly quivering voice. "For everything. Because of me, the King's Lost Things were-"

"Hey, don't worry yourself about it," Camicazi chimed in optimistically. "We'll get the Things back."

"That's not it!" Hiccup snapped, albeit forcefully and earning the attention of his friends. "It's because of me! It's all my fault that I'm not strong enough to protect the King's Lost Things. If I'm not strong enough to even protect that, how am I supposed to protect my family, protect Berk and protect the archipelago? Just...forget it. I'm a failure. I'm too weak to be a King."

A surge of pain suddenly shot through Hiccup's left arm, making him exclaim. Turning to his left, Hiccup found that it was none other than Astrid who punched him. Hiccup rubbed his affectionately, but it wasn't one of Astrid's friendly punches. Astrid's blue eyes stared into his own. Hiccup could make out that she was infuriated.

"Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, you are not weak!" she yelled, standing up.

"Of course I am!" Hiccup retorted, getting up to his feet as well. "I can't lift a hammer, I can barely throw an axe and if I could I couldn't hit my target and the only weapon I have is a dinky old sword! I can't even lug sheep properly! If it weren't for the Dragon Events, I'd be dead last in the Thaw Fest Games!"

"Is that what your definition of strength is?" Astrid demanded. Hiccup clenched his fists but didn't answer. Slowly, Astrid's expression softened. "I used to think like that too."

Hiccup eyed her suspiciously as Astrid sat back down on the ground. "I used to think that strength would be who could throw the farthest axe, defeat the largest dragon, ran the fastest, lift the heaviest of weights, chop down the biggest of trees. That was the kind of strength I saw back then. Those without it I viewed as weak."

It was then that Hiccup bit his lip, positive that Astrid was referring to him.

"But that all changed," Astrid continued, "when I met you and Toothless." She then shook her head. "No, when I met the _bond_ between you and Toothless."

"What are you saying?" Hiccup questioned, getting slightly irritated.

"Your bonds, Hiccup," Astrid answered. "That's your strength. And it's a strength greater and above all the others. A single person could not simply end a war between two species on his own, no matter how much of a capable fighter they were. Yet, you managed to do it with Toothless, with what binds you two together.

"Think about it, Hiccup." Hiccup wanted to interrupt Astrid but seeing how his friend was on fire, he kept quiet.

"You got through everything through the bonds you share with others, haven't you? Being a good friend towards Snotlout. Fighting to protect those you cared for. Your bond and determination that stopped the village from throwing Toothless off the island. Your bond with him that gave you your incredible flying skills. Your bond with Camicazi and Thuggory that led them to helping you on your quest."

At this point, Hiccup's eyes wandered to Thuggory. "Astrid's right you know," he said smugly. "Camicazi and I don't have to be here if we don't want to. Heck, we're risking our lives for a quest that doesn't even belong to us."

"That's because it's your bond with us that make us want to support you," Camicazi added. Hiccup was speechless. Is this really what was happening in the heart of his friends? Is this really what got him this far? The bonds he had?

"If we're talking true strength," Astrid began, "then you, Hiccup, is the strongest person I know." She paused for a moment, noticing Hiccup's slightly unsure expression. "If you still don't believe me, then ask yourself this: why did Toothless save you when you were knocked off his back in the battle with the Red Death?"

That caught Hiccup completely by surprise. It's true that Toothless could have just focused on attempting to land safely. But the dragon didn't. Instead, it dived in after his rider. Why? Because Hiccup was his loyal friend. A bond so strong that one would disregard their safety for another. No matter how far you could throw an axe, it wouldn't matter if you didn't have your friends as support, as people who would always stand by your side.

That was what Hiccup realized that day. His true strength, the strength he had being the little hiccup has was. "Thanks guys," Hiccup finally replied, smiling and patting Toothless on the head.

"No problem," said Thuggory. "What are friends for."

But then, something in Hiccup's brain suddenly snapped and the smile on his face immediately disappeared. Alvin had declared himself King of the Wilderwest two days ago. Hiccup's eyes widened. Quickly, Hiccup stuffed down the remaining of his fish into his mouth and climbed onto Toothless. "We have to leave now!" he exclaimed.

"Why? What happened?" Astrid asked urgently but followed her friend's example. Camicazi put out the fire while Thuggory quickly packed up and hoppoed onto Toothless as Astrid helped Camicazi up onto Stormfly.

Seconds later, Hiccup and Thuggory took off into the skies on Toothless. Astrid urged Stormfly to follow the boys. Opening Toothless' tail, the Night Fury's speed suddenly increased, but not too fast that it left the Deadly Nadder in the dust.

"Hiccup!" Astrid yelled against the wind. "Where are we going?"

"Back to Berk!" Hiccup shouted in reply.

"Berk?" Thuggory repeated. Hiccup nodded. With Alvin as King of the Wilderwest, who knows what has become of his home island...

_Current Date: February 25th _

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Cliffhanger! MUAHAHAHAHA! That's all I have to say, really. But writing Astrid's speech was definitely hard to do...


	12. Return

Chapter 12 already? I have to admit it's kind of a miracle this fanfic made it this far. As far as I know, I don't usually finish my stories. :3

**Chapter Twelve: Return**

Alvin and Excellinor examined the King's Lost Things in front of them. The two took some time to actually look at the objects. "Are these really the King's Lost Things?" asked Alvin with a small hint of disbelief. "These look more like bashed up and used items!"

"Appearance is not everything, Alvin," the Witch cooed. "You should know that. I mean look at the boy."

Alvin grunted in reply before turning back to the King's Lost Things. "Let's see. The portrait, the Ruby, the Crown, the shield, the knife, the Ticking Thing, the Dragon Jewel. We still don't have the sword and the dragon!"

It was then Excellinor screeched in anger. "If we don't have all of the King's Lost Things, you can't be an official King of the Wilderwest!"

"But if the people don't know that, they will still see me as the King nonetheless," Alvin reminded his mother.

"Yes, but to make the people believe that you really are the King, I had to give them the full prophecy. That included a list of the King's Lost Things. Without all of the Things, people of the archipelago might not believe you're the real King."

"What does it matter," said Alvin. "I would still have as much power. I mean, look at what I've already done!"

"True..." Excellinor hissed, smiling an evil smile. "And besides, the bait has already been casted. All we need now is for the fish to take it."

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Anxiety.

That is probably what was making Hiccup's stomach flip. He and the others had flown all through the night. He was still a little tired but Hiccup still had enough strength to head back to Berk. He had to have enough strength.

Astrid, Camicazi and Stormfly were in pretty good shape. Neither Camicazi or Thuggory could fall asleep, which Hiccup had to admit was useful since Camicazi's constant chattering helped keep them awake. As did Astrid and Thuggory yelling at each other. Toothless was still flying pretty well. As expected from a Night Fury, one of the King's Lost Things.

Dawn would be on them soon. If they were going to get to Berk, now would be a good time. Thankfully, it was a full moon and the skies were brightly lit. In the distance, Hiccup could make out the dark figure of a pointed peak and an island. His heart felt a little lighter. At least they had found their way back home. But something tugged Hiccup's intuition, trying to tell him that something was wrong.

As they neared the island, Hiccup furrowed his eyebrows and directed Toothless to into a steady descent. Astrid notices this and lowered Stormfly to the same altitude. "Hiccup, what are you doing?" she asked.

"Something's not right," Hiccup answered her, clearly worried. "Let's land at Thor's Beach to be safe."

Astrid and Camicazi exchanged worried glances as the girls followed Hiccup and Thuggory on Toothless as they descended towards Berk. Bringing Toothless down, Hiccup allowed the Night Fury to fly at a secure altitude, skimming the surface of the sea.

"Get down," Hiccup whispered as he pushed himself onto Toothless. Thuggory complied, as did the girls when they reached the same latitude. Softly, Toothless' legs touched down on the sand of Thor's Beach. The place looked as it usually was.

Stormfly landed and the girls hopped off the dragon. Hiccup and Thuggory slid off Toothless. "Okay," said Hiccup. "We'll go on foot from here. Who knows what we'll find so stay alert."

The other viking teens nodded as they started to creep up the passageway up to the village. Eventually, a couple of trees started to come into view. The viking teens continued to sneak around. A few minutes later, they reached the village. But when they did, Hiccup felt like he just died a little on the inside.

In front of him wasn't the Berk he knew. Houses were scorched and dark, many of them destroyed or damaged. Roofs were tattered. Pieces of wood and debris were all over the floor. Lining around the village were a few stationed torches, but it was enough to light all of the destruction. There were a few flickering torches in the remains of the houses.

"This is...our village?" Astrid breathed in disbelief. She was just about as speechless as Hiccup. The village they grew up in burned to the ground. It was a sight Hiccup feared for his whole life. Yet, it was right in front of his eyes.

Something suddenly caught Hiccup's eye. There was a large viking man walking around the village with a torch in his hand. But Hiccup immediately knew that his man wasn't from Berk. No, he recognized him from somewhere else. Large muscles, messy hair. He looked insane or rather-

"Hysterics," Hiccup growled, gritting his teeth. "Norbert was here. He must've attacked Berk!"

"But we were only gone for a couple of days!" said Camicazi.

"Siege a whole island in less than a week? I've never heard of it happening," Thuggory added.

Hiccup was looking around frantically. He was looking for two specific people, but neither of them were in sight. Hiccup then turned to his companions. "Guys, Toothless, Stormfly," he began. "You guys stay here."

"Where are _you_ going, then?" Astrid hissed. "If you think you're heading into the village alone, forget it."

"The dragons can stay behind but we're coming too," Thuggory insisted. Hiccup sighed in defeat before nodding. He gestured for the others to follow him.

Quickly, Hiccup snuck behind the trees, avoiding the sight of the Hysteric on patrol and made a beeline up to his house up the hill in the village.

Hiccup swung the door open and peered his head in. No one was in the room. Pushing the door wide open, Hiccup allowed himself and the others to step in. Even in the dim moonlight, Hiccup could see what unfolded in his own home. Scratch marks were all over the place. Furniture was all over the place. Hiccup ran up the stairs to his bedroom. It was still tidy. Untouched ever since he left. But the lower floor looked like an absolute war zone. Even the firewood was knocked around.

"What happened here?" Camicazi whispered. "It was like there was a fight."

"And a fierce one at that," said Hiccup. "But the question still remains." Hiccup then clenched his fists. The boy was clearly troubled. Suddenly, a soft groaning was suddenly heard and the viking teens fell silent.

"That sounded like a dragon!" Astrid exclaimed, trying to sound quiet.

"It sounded like it came from behind the house!" said Thuggory. Hiccup ran to the back of his house and pushed the back door open. He didn't use this door since he had to sneak out of his house to look for Toothless, but it was still a familiar feeling. Hiding behind the Haddock Household was-

"Thornado!" Hiccup cried in relief, kneeling down beside the dragon. The Thunderdrum's wings seemed like they were broken and he had many cuts on his body. The other viking teens popped up behind Hiccup, skidding to a stop when they saw the dragon.

"Isn't that Stoick's dragon?" asked Camicazi.

"It is," Hiccup replied and placed a hand on the Thunderdrum. Thornado seemed to calm down a bit. Hiccup's brain on the other hand was about to go haywire. His father's dragon is here, but it's wounded. But where _is_ his father? "Don't worry," Hiccup spoke softly to Thornado. "Everything's going to be all right."

Standing up, Hiccup turned to face his friends who seemed just as troubled as he was. "Let's go get Gobber. He can fix Thornado right up," he suggested.

"Come on, let's go," Astrid urged as she and the other viking teens made their way down the hill with Hiccup trailing a little behind since he closed the door to their house quietly. He had some experience sneaking around villages since he did it in Hysteria and learned that getting caught by Hysterics is not a good idea.

Though things seemed to be going better this time since Camicazi is a master at stealth and burglary. Astrid could be sneaky if she wanted to. And it's not like Hiccup himself and Thuggory were annoyingly loud. But this time, Hiccup had a big advantage: it's Berk. It's obvious that he knew the village like the back of his hand.

Moments later, the viking teens reached Gobber's workshop across the plaza. Unlike the other houses around the village that seemed gloomy yet dimly lit, Gobber's workshop was dark. Hiccup tiptoed in. "Gobber?" he whispered. "You in here?"

Behind him, Astrid, Thuggory and Camicazi stood back to back, keeping an eye out for anything suspicious. A soft crash was suddenly heard coming from Hiccup's own workshop at the back, earning the attention of the viking teens. Hiccup placed his left hand firmly on the hilt of his sword before swinging the curtain open violently and pointed the tip of his blade at the intruder.

The viking teens saw the whole scene unfold.

"Fishlegs?!" they all exclaimed in surprise. Indeed, the tip of Hiccup's blade was pointing right at Fishlegs' chest. The large teenage viking had a scared look on his face. Hiccup quickly sheathed his blade.

"Fishlegs, what are you doing here?" Hiccup demanded. His eyes scanned his friend and noticed that Fishlegs was also covered in cuts and bruises. Hiccup redirected his gaze to meet Fishlegs', but his friend looked like he'd seen a ghost.

"Fishlegs, what's wrong?" Astrid asked.

"Y-y-you're really Hiccup, right?" Fishlegs answered in a shaky voice. "You're not a ghost or anything here to haunt us, right?"

"Yes, Fishlegs, it's me," Hiccup replied, surprised with his friend's response. Fishlegs squealed quietly in delight. "Hiccup! Thank Thor! I can't believe it, you're alive!"

The other viking teens urgently shushed Fishlegs who immediately sucked in his lips. "Sorry."

"It's okay," said Hiccup. "I don't think the Hysterics noticed us. Anyway, what do you mean by 'Thank Thor' and 'I'm alive'?"

Suddenly, the sound of footprints echoed in the atmosphere behind the viking teens. "Darn it," said Fishlegs before turning to the others. "I'll explain later. For now, follow me. We're heading into the woods."

Swiftly, Fishlegs ran out the back of Gobber's workshop, silently followed by the other viking teens. Quickly, they made their way to the entrance of the woods, running straight inside of it. Bushes and sticks brushed against Hiccup's legs but he couldn't care less. "What about our dragons?"

"We saw them and the others have already taken them to the cove."

"The cove?" Thuggory repeated. Fishlegs' nodded. Soon, the village was out of sight and the trees became more thick. The teens stopped running and started walking at a steady rate.

"Okay, we have a ton of questions right now," said Camicazi. "Fishlegs, tell us what happened from the beginning."

Fishlegs whipped his head around as if he was making sure no one was following them before he started to answer Camicazi's question. "It started around two days ago," Fishlegs began. "It was a regular day at Berk. That is, before Norbert attacked."

"So Norbert _did_ launch an attack on Berk," Hiccup added quickly. "But it's not like him to just come in and lay siege to another island. Even if Norbert's a Hysteric I don't think he's that insane."

"He wasn't," Fishlegs continued. "It was a planned attack. Norbert came with Alvin. They must have had an alliance."

"Wait, Alvin the Treacherous?" asked Thuggory. "The leader of the Outcasts?"

"That's him," said Fishlegs. "The two of them both brought large armies with them. Even our dragons couldn't keep up."

"But still, that's no reason for Berk to fall," Astrid deducted. "So how did the village ended up being conquered?"

Fishlegs suddenly stopped walking and turned to Hiccup. The other viking teens stopped talking as Fishlegs spoke. "Alvin. A day or so after the initial raid, he managed to trick us into thinking that Hiccup was dead."

"What?!" the other viking teens all exclaimed, including Hiccup himself.

"How did he do that? I'm standing right here!" cried Hiccup.

"You wouldn't by any chance lost the King's Lost Things, did you?" Fishlegs questioned Hiccup. The young heir sucked in his lips. "Yeah, sorry about that. But we're going to get them back."

"Well Alvin used the King's Lost Things he stole off you and probably some duplicates of your waistcoat, tunic and prosthetic foot." Fishlegs paused for a moment to allow the others to process the information. "Afterwards, the chief was filled with grief. Alvin and Norbert easily defeated him."

"Wait, so what happened to my dad?" Hiccup sharply demanded as a surge of panic hit his body.

Fishlegs shook his head solemnly. "I don't know. I don't think Alvin and Norbert killed him though. But without the chief, the village was easily defeated. Gobber took us and we fled for the forest with our dragons. Right now, we're using the cove as our team's secret hideout."

"Team?" Astrid repeated.

"B.U.F.F," Fishlegs replied. "Berk's United Freedom Fighters. Don't ask. Snotlout wanted the acronym so I had to find something that fit the title."

"Please don't tell me Snotlout's leading," Astrid started to groan but Fishlegs quickly reassured her. "Don't worry. Gobber is. Sort of. But we've all seen Gobber's leadership abilities so I think it would be better if Hiccup took over when we get there."

Even though he was walking with his friends, Hiccup's mind was already elsewhere. He didn't know should he be angry at Alvin and Norbert for attacking his home, or should he be angry at himself for leaving Berk and allowing it to be conquered. Hiccup shook his head to shake off the thoughts. This was no time to be thinking about what had already happened. He had to focus on what was happening right now.

Eventually, the viking teens reached a familiar sight to Hiccup and Astrid: the opening entrance to a secluded cove in the middle of the forest. The teens made their way down into the cove, Hiccup and Astrid closely following behind Fishlegs. When they got in the cove, everyone else was waiting for them.

Snotlout was standing there, and there were the twins who were still feuding. Even Gobber was trying to settle the fight as their dragons argued in the background. Hookfang was on the verge of bursting into flames in an argument with Barf and Belch so Snotlout quickly bent the Monstrous Nightmare's horns onto the ground. But something caught Hiccup's attention. Toothless and Stormfly were definitely there. But the person in between the two was patting the two dragons merrily. When she turned to face Hiccup, Astrid, Camicazi and Thuggory, her dark green eyes and black hair glistened in the moonlight. "Hey guys."

"Heather!" Astrid quickly blurted out as Heather ran up to Astrid and the two girls shared a quick hug. Heather then turned to Hiccup. "Hiccup, I'm so glad you're alive." She then quickly gave Hiccup his own hug, leaving Hiccup while a smile on his face. Hiccup snapped himself out of the daze. "Heather, what are you doing here?"

"Well, since you guys helped me rescue my parents, I thought I'd repay the debt," Heather happily answered. "Fishlegs sent me a message as soon as Alvin attacked."

Hiccup's gaze redirected to Fishlegs who shrugged. "We need all the help we can get." Fishlegs then rolled his eyes. "Besides, you know Snotlout."

As if on cue, Snotlout came in and started talking with Heather. "Hey, did you see me handle my dragon?" Snotlout purred.

"Uh..." Heather began before turning back to Astrid and Hiccup. "So, are they Thuggory and Camicazi? Fishlegs mentioned you two."

"Nice to meet you too," Thuggory smirked, giving Heather a wink. The girl couldn't help but sigh and was greeted by a small laugh from Camicazi. The young Bog Burglar turned to face the entire team in the cave. "Is this really all we have?" she asked.

"It's better than nothing," Astrid told her.

Nearby, Ruffnut had recently gave Tuffnut a good "rock to the face" and Gobber had given up trying to stop the two. In fact, he didn't even have the slightest idea on why they were fighting. At the corner of his eye, Gobber could see Hiccup walking up to him. The boys eyes were filled with worry and his fists were slowing tightening.

"I'm glad you're safe, Hiccup," said Gobber. "Don't worry about your father. He's a strong man. I'm sure he'll be alright."

Hiccup nodded. "Gobber, we found Thornado behind my house. He's in pretty bad shape. Can you take care of him?"

"On it," the blacksmith replied as he made his way towards the cove's exit. Eventually, things began to calm down as Tuffnut started trying to flirt with Heather too. Hookfang and Barf and Belch took a few steps back from each other. Snotlout gave Hiccup a small 'I thought you were dead' talk before stating he was much more useful like how it was with the dragon raids. It wasn't before long before everyone stopped talking and all had their eyes on Hiccup. Toothless nudged his rider's back.

"What?" Hiccup asked, admitting to himself that this was a little awkward.

"You're the heir, Hiccup," said Astrid. "You should be the one who leads us." Hiccup turned to Fishlegs and Heather who nodded.

"What are your orders?" Camicazi chimed in. Looking around him, Hiccup finally managed to make out that no one left Berk unscathed. Everyone had cuts and bruises but none were too serious. It seemed that even the viking teens put up a fight. Meatlug huddled against Fishlegs.

"We all seem to be a little tired. Relax or train until tomorrow night," he told the others.

"Then what?" Tuffnut asked, slightly bored. Soft rays of morning light showed that a smile had crept up Hiccup's face as he placed his hand on the hilt of his sword. "Then we take back our home island."

_Current Date: February 26th_

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We're getting closer to the climax! This is more of a revelations chapter since we see what Alvin and Norbert have been up to. Don't worry, we're getting into Mildew soon.


	13. Battle for Berk

My life is crazy right now, even if it is Christmas Break...

Happy Holidays everybody! But we don't really celebrate Christmas in my country, so :/

Initially, I was going to make this chapter longer but I thought I'd save some things for later. :3

Chapter Thirteen: Battle for Berk

It wasn't easy to sit back and relax when you just learned that your home island was taken over by your most formidable enemies. But the viking teens, and Gobber, are relaxing so that they will be able to gather enough energy to fight back. They have been taking breaks from their training every hour or so. Gobber had been with Thornado for the past few days. Even though Thornado is still back at the Haddock Household, the Thunderdrum should be able to get back into action that night. While the others were busy, Hiccup was more of thinking to himself our out flying.

The sun was still a good way from the horizon and Berk's United Freedom Fighters have spent a day and a half taking things slow. Though now, it's time to finally take some action. Just after three in the afternoon, Hiccup called the whole team together, dragons included.

"Alright guys," Hiccup began, "listen up." Picking up a stick on the ground, Hiccup drew a quick map of the village into the dirt. "We can't just barge in and take back the village. Who knows how many men Alvin and Norbert have, and we have only nine kids, one Gobber and five dragons."

"So you're saying it's hopeless?" asked Ruffnut.

"No," Hiccup answered calmly. "I'm saying that if we don't have a plan we're going to get imprisoned and most likely killed."

"You can just leave the front troops to me and Hookfang," said Snotlout smugly.

"Now _that's _hopeless," Astrid added into the conversation.

"Moving on," Hiccup said quickly. "We have the dragons to our advantage though, so we're going to have to use that wisely. We'll split up." Hiccup then pointed the end of the stick to the patch of land to the either side of the Great Hall and the village. Hiccup brought the stick to the Haddock Household. "Gobber, you take the twins and head there. And since Gobber, you're really close to my dad, Thornado should trust you enough to let you ride him."

"Wait, what do you mean by 'should'?" grumbled the blacksmith but Hiccup didn't pay any attention to him and pointed the stick to the patch of land opposite from Gobber's assigned location, also near the Great Hall. "Snotlout, Fishlegs, Heather, you guys stay here."

The three viking teens who were called nodded. Hiccup then pointed to the forest's entrance. "Astrid, you, Camicazi and Thuggory attack from here on foot."

"Wait, on foot?" Camicazi repeated. "Why?"

"Well to attack from both the ground and the air should give us an advantage. It might help keep our attacker's hands full."

"And I have to go on foot?" Astrid asked. "I have Stormfly."

"But since Heather's here, and since she can also ride Stormfly, I would like to have you on the ground since you're also efficient in physical combat."

Astrid nodded in understanding. "Then what about you?"

"I'll be in the sky with Toothless. We're going to, and I'm sorry to say this Gobber, but we're going to set fire to the armory."

"What?!" the blacksmith exclaimed before sighing. "Well, at least I have a small back-up batch in the forge."

"That's good," said Hiccup. "I wanted to get rid of the armory so that the Hysterics and presumably Outcasts won't be able to restock their weapon supply during the attack. As soon as Toothless fires, the rest of you attack. We'll meet up at the stairs to the Great Hall. Once we're there, Thuggory and Astrid will come with me and Toothless inside."

"What are you planning to do?" asked Heather, slightly concerned. "I'm going after Norbert or Alvin or whoever's in there. If it's both, well that's why I'm bringing Astrid, Thuggory and Toothless. The rest of you stay outside and keep all the other vikings out."

"Is that it?" piped Fishlegs, slowly wrapping his head around Hiccup's plan.

"Actually, it's not," Hiccup replied. "There's something that I'm worried about."

"What?" most of the viking teens, including Gobber immediately blurted out. For his answer, Hiccup's stick redirected it's point to a lone house sitting behind the mountain. "According to Fishlegs, Alvin had duplicates of my waistcoat, tunic and most importantly, my prosthetic foot. And who do you think got those things for him?"

"Mildew," Astrid growled between gritted teeth.

"Exactly," said Hiccup. "As much as it pains me to say this, Snotlout, this is your special job. I want you to capture Mildew if he tries to escape."

Snotlout immediately pumped his fist up into the air, whooping joyfully. Hiccup sighed mentally.

"Why Snotlout?" Fishlegs groaned.

"Well because I know that the Monstrous Nightmare's claws are good for pinning people down," Hiccup grumbled in reply, not needing to remember the scene during his Dragon Training final exam. Fishlegs nodded in reply.

"Sounds like a plan," said Heather. "When do we strike?"

"At sundown," Hiccup replied sternly. He gestured for his friends to lean in slightly. "We all know what to do. Good luck to every one of you. If it's possible, I'd like our village back by sunrise latest."

"Yeah!"

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"Let's go, bud," Hiccup whispered to Toothless. The sun had just made it's way below the horizon and the sky began to turn dark. The Night Fury lifted off. Everyone else had already moved to their assigned position. As the wind blew in Hiccup's face and hair, Toothless quietly soared above Berk, the darkness of the young night keeping them hidden.

From the sky, Hiccup's heart pounded as he scanned the village from the sky looking for the armory. This was the real deal. The fate of the island rests on his plan and this attack. There is no room for screw-ups. As soon as Hiccup spotted what he needed, he pushed himself forward onto Toothless' back. "Alright Toothless," said Hiccup as he opened Toothless' tail. "Fire."

In an instant, Toothless gained a sudden burst of speed and shot forward into the sky. The Night Fury narrowed his eyes with a slight smirk before letting out a piercing roar. As Toothless' speed picked up, Hiccup saw everything go by in a flurry as a bright light exploded, setting a small wooden hut ablaze.

Immediately, the surrounding vikings exclaimed in surprise. Many of them rushed over with buckets of water, attempting to put out the fire.

"What happened?!" exclaimed one. "How did the fire start?"

"It was a Night Fury!" answered another surprised Hysteric. Many of them nodded in agreement before growling, "It's the boy. He's back."

Seeing the light from the village plaza, Gobber gestured for the twins to move forward. The blacksmith slowly climbed onto a blue Thunderdrum. Thornado lifted off the ground and let out a loud roar, pushing several Hysterics from their stances. A second later, the plaza as engulfed by green smoke.

"It's an attack!" screamed one of the Hysterics and many of them started panicking. The Hysterics attempted to fully arm themselves, but the smoke prevented them from seeing where they were going.

"Lava blast!" Fishlegs shouted above as he and Meatlug swooped downward, the Gronckle firing. Quickly, Fishlegs pulled back up as the gas below exploded, resulting in yells and cries from the vikings.

All the way at the entrance of the forest, the noises and the light of burning fire could be seen and heard clearly. "There's our cue," said Astrid, turning to Camicazi and Thuggory. "Let's go." All three viking teenagers were armed. Each let out a battle cry before charging into the village.

Thuggory stepped forward and attacked the first Hysteric he saw, quickly jabbing the hilt of his sword into the man's torso. Astrid came up, battle axe ready. Swiftly, the girl swung, creating a cut that sliced the armor and the Hysteric's skin. Camicazi parried a blow from a nearby Hysteric and neatly knocked him out with the blunt side of her sword.

"We have to get to the village plaza!" shouted Thuggory on top of all the chaos. The two girls nodded as they followed Thuggory into the diminishing green smoke. Several Hysterics attacked them. Astrid hauled herself over the shoulders of a large Hysteric before effectively using her legs to push herself off him and sending him face first onto the ground. Thuggory ducked from a horizontal axe swing aimed for his head but continued running. Camicazi quickly slid between the legs of several Hysterics, , plucking their scabbards on the way.

"You burgle in the middle of a battle?" Astrid asked her suspiciously. Camicazi shrugged. "It helps calm my nerves!"

"You wouldn't think by any chance the twins would fire while we're down here right?" Thuggory choked out, peering over his shoulder to look at his friends. All Astrid did in reply was suck in her lips.

A split second later, a flash of fire flew over the three vikings' heads as arrows pierced the flames, setting them ablaze and pierced the armor of the Hysterics. A red Monstrous Nightmare and a blue Deadly Nadder landed onto the ground as it's riders stayed on.

"Heather!" breathed Astrid.

"Snotlout!" exclaimed Thuggory. Snotlout stood up on Hookfang. "Aw yeah, feel the fire of vengeance, you Hysterics!" he hooted. Heather rolled her eyes in annoyance before patting Stormfly. Heather's eyes suddenly widened. "Astrid, Camicazi, behind you!" she shrieked. Turning around, Astrid and Camicazi were faced with a dozen Hysteric warriors.

The air suddenly rippled as the Hysterics were pushed back. The viking teens whipped their head to the right as Gobber landed on Thornado with Meatlug and Barf and Belch to either side of him. Ruffnut and Tuffnut exchanged a knuckle bump. Gobber slid off Thornado and brought out a sword, ready to fight.

Fishlegs and Meatlug hopped off the ground gently, hovering. "Where's Hiccup?"

The skies shook with a thundering roar as a nearby catapult was blown into flames and a dark figure darted past. As quickly as it came, the figure once again disappeared into the sky.

"Apparently blowing up catapults," said Astrid. Thornado had left Gobber's side and had been roaring at a whole hoard of Hysterics. A moment later, a Night Fury swooped down from the sky, coming to a sudden stop. It's rider hopped off the back of the dragon and quickly drew his blade, jumping onto one of the nearby Hysterics and knocked the sword clean out of the opponent's hand. Toothless fired a small blast behind Hiccup, sending the Hysteric backwards.

"Thanks, bud," said Hiccup. Whipping his head around, Hiccup is greeted by the rest of his team. Snotlout, Fishlegs and the twins were already holding back the Hysterics. Slowly, the warriors pushed the viking teens (and Gobber) back towards the stairs of the Great Hall. Looking to his friends, Hiccup saw that they all have him reassuring nods. Hiccup couldn't help but give them one in reply.

"Alright guys, you know what to do!" he shouted as he sheathed his blade and ran up the stairs. "Astrid, Thuggory, let's go!"

"Right!" the two vikings echoed in unison as they followed Hiccup up the stairs. Toothless trailed behind the three teens. As he ran, Hiccup narrows his eyebrows. The large doors of the Great Hall came closer to him every passing second. The moment he steps in, he's going to be facing whoever is responsible for doing this to his home island.

Astrid and Thuggory shot ahead of Hiccup, both of them pushing the doors to the Great Hall open. The wind rushed in. Inside, the Great Hall seemed intact. The torches and fireplace were lit. Sitting at the other end of the hall however, was a large Hysteric man.

"Norbert," Hiccup growled, drawing his blade. Slowly, the heir to the island stepped forward, his companions close behind him. "You're the one behind this? You're the one who burned my home to the ground?!"

"Well, you burned my Meade Hall to the ground," Norbert replied calmly. "I believe this is simply...returning the favor. And besides, I didn't do this on my own. Mildew and Alvin helped me out."

"Mildew?" Thuggory repeated, taking a step. "Where's that coward?" Suddenly, a familiar scream echoed in the hall, Hiccup and Astrid easily identifying who's it was. Astrid grinned. "Looks like Snotlout caught your little coward," she smirked.

Norbert scoffed in reply. "He wasn't all that useful anyway. More of a cranky old man just wanting to dispose of you." Norbert pointed directly as Hiccup. "How about we finish what we started back on my island?"

"With pleasure," Hiccup answered as he placed his hand on his hilt. In the blink of an eye, Norbert drew his sword and shot forward, straight at the viking teens.

_Current Date: February 27th _

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At first, I was going to have this Hiccup vs. Norbert-ish battle in this chapter but I thought I'd bump it to the next chapter since it helps even the content in another two chapters or so.

That's all for this update!


	14. Still Not The End

Sorry for the wait! It's been so busy lately because of New Year stuff...I was even out of town for a week, so I didn't have a lot of time to write. Then there's writer's block...don't even let me get started on that.

Anyway, enjoy chapter 14!

**Chapter Fourteen: Still Not the End**

Normally, when a three hundred pound man charges at you ready to stab your heart out, a typical person would panic and scream like a little girl. Fortunately for us, Hiccup isn't a typical person. On instinct, Hiccup shifted himself into a solid stance. As Norbert ran towards him, Hiccup was ready to draw his blade at any moment.

In the split second before Norbert made contact, Thuggory slipped in between Hiccup and the Hysteric Chief, unsheathing his own blade. The Great Hall fell silent as the sound of Thuggory's and Norbert's swords collided.

"Thuggory!" Astrid and Hiccup exclaimed in unison.

"What are you doing?" Hiccup hissed, his hand still on his hilt. Having fought Norbert before, Hiccup knew what the chief could do. He barely made it out alive the last time, but he was willing to fight Norbert again, if it means that his friends would be spared.

"Who are you, boy?" Norbert growled. "I'm here to chop the Hiccup boy's head off!" It was natural that Hiccup gulped at this comment.

"Who am I?" Thuggory repeated, his sword still pressing against Norbert's. Thuggory pushed the Hysteric's blade backwards. Thuggory then held a hand in front of Hiccup, instructing him to stay back. "Someone you don't need to know, because Hiccup doesn't have to fight you." He whipped his head to the two viking teens standing behind him. "Astrid!" he called.

Astrid quickly rushed to Thuggory's side. She adjusted her grip on her axe for a moment before scoffing. "Teaming up with you?"

"What of it?" Thuggory asked in return.

Smirking, Astrid shot forward. Norbert wasn't caught by surprise and easily blocked Astrid's swing with his sword. "Ha!" Norbert guffawed. "When I fought you back on my island I could have sworn you were better." Astrid simply grinned as Thuggory got behind Norbert, letting out a battle cry as he leaped into the air, swinging his sword downward.

Norbert growled as he pushed Astrid away and turned around to block Thuggory's attack. Astrid managed to dig her feet into the ground and got back into a solid stance. Thuggory's blade pressed against Norbert's and the young Meathead's arms slowly began to ache.

"Thuggory!" yelled Hiccup. His left hand secured around the hilt. "Hold on, I'm coming!"

A loud laugh suddenly came from Thuggory as he used his own blade to push Norbert's to the side. "I'd never thought you were going to forget your own plan," Thuggory told Hiccup smugly, turning to face latter, but soon realized his mistake when Norbert slammed a clenched fist hard into his stomach. The blow caused Thuggory to wince and clutch his torso. Astrid used her axe's handle and gave Norbert a large hit the head, earning her the Hysteric Chief's attention.

Steadily, Thuggory got back to his feet. "Don't worry about us. We've got him. Do what you need to do."

Seeing the assured look on Thuggory's face, Hiccup gave him a stern nod before forcing himself to turn his back on Norbert. Toothless however, had his eyes glued on the battle.

Quickly, Hiccup's eyes scanned the entire Great Hall. The tables, the fire, the ceiling. The young viking narrowed his eyebrows as he walked towards one of the nearby tables. He peeked behind the statues and fire posts, checking each and every one of them thoroughly. With each passing moment, Hiccup's heart pounded harder, like it was trying to bust his chest right open. The anxiety was starting to make him feel sick. But when he was sure that no one else was in the Great Hall, that anxiety slowly converted into rage.

Whipping his head back to the center of the Great Hall, Hiccup saw Thuggory and Astrid both swinging for Norbert at once who brought up his blade in front of him to block both Thuggory's sword and Astrid's axe. Feeling the anger still grow, Hiccup made his way over to the battle.

"Hey Norbert!" Hiccup shouted, earning Norbert's attention. Swiftly, Hiccup shot forward with the tip of his blade in front of him. With the speed he moved, Hiccup managed to catch Norbert by the surprise, making the chief's eyes widen when he saw that Hiccup's blade succeeded in creating a cut on his left abdomen. As quickly as it shot forward, Hiccup pulled his sword back.

"Whoa," Astrid breathed in astonishment. She almost let the grip on her axe slacken.

"Hey, Haddock!" Thuggory exclaimed, slightly irritated. "Don't go hogging all the fun even though that was a great move!"

"Not now, Thuggory," Hiccup answered almost emotionless. Norbert shot Hiccup an angry glare. The angry chief raised his sword high into the air. Hiccup refused to back down and nimbly stepped to the left before revealing a Night Fury that was preparing to blast. Norbert's eyes widened when he realized that he had fallen for a simple trick.

Toothless let out a blast of fire, pushing Norbert backwards. While the chief was disoriented, Hiccup stepped forth and neatly flicked his rest, forcing Norbert's sword to fly right out of his hands. Norbert watched in shock as Hiccup pointed the tip of his blade at Norbert's chest.

Astrid and Thuggory stood around Norbert, pointing their weapons at him as well. Slowly, the Hysteric Chief stepped back. Eventually, Norbert's back made contact with the stone walls of the Great Hall. He sighed. "Being defeated by a bunch of kids. It's pathetic."

"I can't believe you jumped in the middle of the battle," scoffed Thuggory. "I told you we had it covered."

For a moment, Hiccup didn't say anything. The atmosphere became heavy with tension. Hiccup's sword however, stayed pointed. It didn't move. Norbert could've struck back anytime he wanted to, but seeing Hiccup with such a serious expression on his face made him thought that this might become amusing for him.

Toothless purred softly while Astrid remained quiet. But like Hiccup, she refused to bring down her weapon.

"Where is he?" Hiccup finally asked, softly. Norbert raised an eyebrow in confusion. Hiccup stared into Norbert's eyes before taking a small step forward, the tip of his blade mere centimeters from Norbert's chest.

"Where is Alvin?" Hiccup demanded fiercely. "And more importantly, where's my father. They're not in the Great Hall, so where are they?!" Astrid looked at Hiccup with worry. She had rarely seen him this serious. Hiccup was always more of the make-sarcastic-jokes along the way type. To see him demand something so aggressively told her that he was desperate. Very desperate. And most importantly, angry.

Slowly, Norbert began to chuckle. Gradually, the chuckle turned into a loud boisterous laugh. "To see Stoick's little embarrassment interrogate me so intensely. I'd never thought I'd see the day."

"Just answer my questions," said Hiccup in just as much of an aggressive tone. Thuggory was still focused while Astrid swallowed the large lump on her throat. Hiccup acting like this seemed so barbaric. Like it was another side of him. Another side that he'd kept at bay for as long as she knew him. And another side that would only come out if he was truly angered. Astrid found it hard to believe that this was the same non-violent dragon training master Hiccup she knew.

And it seem that Norbert had the same thing going through his mind. "You acting like this," Norbert purred. "You're beginning to remind me of Alvin. You two wouldn't be related by any chance would you?"

At this point, it seemed that Hiccup snapped. "I'm not like Alvin!" he roared before clenching his teeth. As he said this, Hiccup brought his blade down slightly. Seeing his chance, Norbert dove forward and grabbed Hiccup's neck as he pushed the young viking heir onto the floor.

"Hiccup!" Thuggory and Astrid exclaimed simultaneously. Both of them adjusted their weapon aims, making sure they were locked on Norbert. Hiccup was slammed on the ground so hard that a good deal of oxygen was knocked right out of his lungs. With Norbert's hand around his neck, Hiccup was sure that the Hysteric Chief would begin to choke him any second. During his fall, Hiccup's sword skidded out of his reach. He himself was pretty much defenseless.

Norbert leaned in towards Hiccup face, the latter being able to sense the smell of beer. "Alvin took your father in as his personal servant," Norbert whispered into Hiccup's ear. The eyes of Berk's young heir widened.

"What?" murmured Hiccup in utter bewilderment.

"It's true," Norbert continued. "The moment your father thought you really were dead, he dropped to his knees. You should have seen the look on his face. It was priceless. At the moment, he's probably being held by Alvin on Outcast Island. The King does need some time to rest before his coronation in a few days."

"Then we'll defeat him before the coronation," replied a stern Hiccup. "We're not giving up. We're never going to."

"Good luck going against his Skrill!" said Norbert with a hint of crazy in his voice. But that statement caught Hiccup by surprise. "Skrill?" he repeated.

"Yes, the Skrill. When reading your Book of Dragons didn't work, Alvin started beating up the dragon until it followed his orders. Not bad of a method don't you think?" Slowly, Norbert's grip began to tighten.

"But that's inducing fear!" Hiccup managed to choke out. "A bond like that with the dragon won't make it loyal!" Using his own hands, Hiccup grabbed Norbert's in an attempt to force the chief to let go.

"Then why don't you go there and tell Alvin that yourself, Dragon Conquerer?" Norbert suggested. At this point, Astrid turned to face Thuggory with a curious look on her face. The young Meathead simply shrugged in reply.

A smirk curled up Hiccup's face. "You know what, maybe I will." Hiccup paused for a moment. "Toothless!" On command, a black tail with a red tail fin swung at Norbert, flinging him right off Hiccup's body and slamming hard into one of the walls of the Great Hall. Toothless quickly fired a fire blast at Norbert and the chief fell onto the floor.

"That did it?" asked Thuggory.

"I think so," Hiccup panted, picking up his sword and sheathing it. Slowly, the boy stood up. Looking at his friends, Hiccup could tell that they were still surprised by what just happened. Hiccup muttered an apology. "Guess I was just that angry. And or desperate."

Astrid heaved a small sigh of relief. "Don't worry, Hiccup. You and Alvin may be related, but that doesn't mean you're like him. You are fighting to help save the archipelago, while he's doing it for his own personal gain, after all."

Hiccup couldn't help but smile, realizing that Astrid was right. But he really should be careful when he's furious. He could end up hurting someone unintentionally.

Thuggory averted his gaze to Norbert, who was still unmoving. "What are you going to do about him?"

"I guess we'll throw him in jail," Hiccup answered in a much lighter tone.

"Um, you do realize that even Heather was able to break out of there, right?" Astrid reminded him.

"I know," Hiccup replied. "I was thinking maybe we'd put him on a boat and ship him off to Hysteria, or maybe he'll fall off the edge of the world."

"If he can find it," Astrid muttered under her breath. As the Great Hall fell silent once again, the noises outside became much clearer. But all the sounds slowly died down. The viking teens inside the Great Hall exchanged worried glances before darting towards the Great Hall's doors. Suddenly, Fishlegs stepped in, making Hiccup exclaim in surprise.

Slowly, the young and chubby viking smiled. "Norbert's army's down. We've won this battle. Everyone's fine. It's over."

Thuggory and Astrid breathed a large sigh of relief. But Hiccup shook his head. "No. This is still not the end."

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The battle for Berk that night would be part of the legendary story of how a band of young viking warriors took a large step in the fight against the self proclaimed King of the Wilderwest: Alvin the Treacherous.

It's the afternoon following Norbert's defeat and the sun spent a lot of time shining on Berk that day. The hopes of the people were rekindled, believing that someone will be able to stop Alvin's rule. And slowly on Berk, the people began to rebuild.

The following night, the villagers celebrated. They sang songs, ate a large meal and forgot all their worries. The heroes were given special treatment of course, and so did their dragons.

But one of them stepped away from the bustling crowd. Hiccup walked outside the Great Hall where everyone else was having a great time. Norbert was at the prison under heavy security, so Hiccup didn't have to worry about the Hysteric chief attacking him. Toothless followed his rider as Hiccup walked to Gobber's workshop. Standing in front of a whole set of equipment, Hiccup picked up an arm guard and slid it onto his arm.

"What are you doing here?" a voice suddenly asked behind him. Hiccup turned around to see Camicazi, Astrid, Heather, Thuggory, Fishlegs, Snotlout, the twins, Gobber and their dragons behind him.

"You should be in the Great Hall celebrating with the villagers," Fishlegs told him.

"Yeah, it's not every day the people get to see these babies," said Snotlout smugly before bringing up his arms and posing. Hiccup sighed as he slipped another arm guard on. "This is not the time to be celebrating. We've won the battle, but the war is not over. This is still not the end. And it's not going to end here."

"Then where is it going to end?" Heather asked him, curious. Somewhere inside Astrid, she felt as if she already knew the answer. As if knowing this, Hiccup grinned from ear to ear.

"Outcast Island," he answered. "I'm going to go rescue my dad."

"Oh no, you're not," Gobber hastily hissed.

"You can't stop me, Gobber," said Hiccup. "And by 'me', I mean 'us'." Hiccup gestured to his friends. They smiled at him in return. The twins exchanged a knuckle bump. Thuggory, Heather and Camicazi simply stood there grinning. Astrid and Fishlegs patted their dragons. At this point, Gobber knew that he wasn't going to convince Hiccup to not go to Outcast Island any time soon. The blacksmith gave up. "You kids had better come back safe. Or the chief would kill me. That is, if he gets back."

"He will get back," Hiccup assured Gobber. He then turned to face his team. Heather and Astrid gave him a thumbs up. Fishlegs and Snotlout had determined looks on their faces. The twins looked all pumped up. Camicazi and Thuggory gave him stern nods.

"Alright guys," began Hiccup, confidently as he placed a hand on his own dragon. "Saddle up."

_Current Date: February 28th_

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Sorry if you're disappointed by how the fight scene turned out. I had to save Hiccup's strength. :3 Also, I never thought of writing Hiccup that OOC-ish. But I thought it'd be nice to see his scary side. He is related to Alvin if you remember the history of Grimbeard's three sons, so it's obvious Hiccup has an evil side. I thought it'd be nice if I let it out a bit during this scene. I'm not sure am I going to have more of it though. But that side of Hiccup scares me.

In case if there was confusion about the date, the whole fight with Norbert happened during the night of the 27th. The people partied on the 28th and that night was when the gang departed for Outcast Island. Hope this helps clear things up.


	15. Reunion

School's back on...writing time killer. So this story will probably be updated only on weekends. I'm nearing the end, anyway. :3 I think this is the longest HTTYD fan fic I've ever written...

**Chapter Fifteen: Reunion**

The darkness of the night covered the viking teens during their flight. It had been several hours since they've left Berk and Hiccup was certain that sunrise could be upon them at any time. His mind thought back to the few moments before they left.

Gobber insisted that he was to come along to be sure to keep the kids safe. But Hiccup reminded him about the Heather Incident and how they managed to get out of _that_ situation alive. He said that Gobber was needed to take care of the island, along with Bucket and Mulch. Surprisingly, Thornado was staying behind, like it was going to help protect what his rider wants him to. Hiccup found it surprising that it wasn't him. 'Guess dad figured out I can take care of myself. I mean, he was the one who gave me this sword in the first place'.

The stars shined brightly, as if lighting the way to Outcast Island. Camicazi was slumped on his back. "Ugh. Are we there yet?" she groaned impatiently. The gang left Berk in the middle of the night, wanting to be able to sneak into Outcast Island before dawn and kick butt before breakfast. But it's not like they didn't bring food for the road.

Snotlout is was sharing Hookfang with Thuggory, and so the two teen boys were sharing their fish. Heather and Astrid carefully fed Stormfly some chicken along the way, so Hiccup had to at least give his own dragon some fish. Barf and Belch helped themselves as well, but Meatlug preferred to wait for the rocks that were going to catapulted at them later on.

As Toothless flew smoothly, Fishlegs pulled Meatlug next to Toothless' rider. "Hiccup, are you sure it's a good idea for us to come here on our own?" Fishlegs squeaked. "You know, maybe we should have brought more warriors from Berk with us?"

"We've done this before, haven't we, Fishlegs?" Hiccup reminded him. "Besides, I want to risk as least lives as I can."

"But you do realize that if you lose, the lives of the whole Archipelago are going to be at risk. Warriors with us or no warriors, all that matters that if you win, it gets us happy dragon raid-free islands. You lose and we'll be living under the rule of you-know-who," Camicazi said to Hiccup, pushing herself up from his back.

"Thank you, for summing that up," Hiccup grumbled, "but I already know the risks. We can't lose it here."

"Why would we need to brings warriors with us anyway?" Snotlout jeered. "Hookfang and I are all we need to take down Alvin."

"Yeah," Tuffnut added. "So when we get there, just let us in on Alvin so we can kick his butt." Ruffnut hi-fived her brother in agreement.

Astrid sighed. "We already decided that Hiccup's the one who has to face Alvin for the throne. Only a few of us will be going with him. It's similar to what we did back on Berk."

In the distance, the shadow of Outcast Island slowly came into sight. Hiccup took a deep breath in. "Okay. Once we get there, we'll land where Astrid did last time. From there, we don't get time to breathe, so are you guys ready?"

"Yeah!" the viking teens chorused.

"I'm going to show that Outcast a thing or two about what a Meathead can do!" said Thuggory, excitedly.

"And to show him that you should never underestimate a Bog Burglar," Camicazi quickly added.

"Ready to repay the favor, Hiccup," said Heather with a smile on her face. Hiccup grinned as he directed Toothless into a slow dive, eventually gliding just above the ocean. "Stay low and don't let them see us!" he told the others and they followed his example.

Hiccup's heart began beating faster. For a screw-up who messed things up a lot of the time, this was a mess he cannot make worse. His hands gripped Toothless' saddle tightly before the dragon neatly landed. As soon as they did, Hiccup managed to catch sight of a patrolling Outcast running back into the island, when he suddenly collapsed.

Curious, Hiccup looked above to see Stormfly flying over his head and landing with Astrid and Heather, the latter having a crossbow in her hand. Hiccup stared for a moment in bewilderment. "Heather, since when did you know how to shoot a crossbow?"

"Gobber," she replied casually. Hiccup shrugged it off as he slid of Toothless. One by one, the other dragons landed beside him. Hiccup collected his guts before gesturing for his friends forward. The teens stepped into the Outcast lair.

"Which way do we go?" asked a still incredibly nervous Fishlegs.

"Follow me," Hiccup began as he took a step. Astrid held out her arm, preventing Hiccup from going any further. Hiccup looked at his friend in confusion.

"The last time you led us, we ran right into a roman toilet," Astrid reminded him, earning a snicker from Camicazi. Heather then stepped forward alongside Astrid. "If you would be so kind, let the two of us, who've actually been here before, lead the way."

Hiccup gestured into the lair. "Lead the way, ladies."

Whenever they ran into Outcasts, the viking teens would knock them out before they managed to run off to report to anyone else.

The teens swiftly ran behind a large wall. "Which way's the dungeon?" Hiccup whispered to Heather. She pointed forward towards a stone staircase leading downwards. Three guards stood at the top of the staircase.

"Force?" Snotlout suggested.

"Force," repeated a slightly reluctant Hiccup.

"Charge!" yelled Thuggory as he drew his sword and ran right towards the Outcast Guards. Neatly, he knocked two of them out with two separate blows before continuing to slice one at the torso, making him collapse. Thuggory turned to his teammates and gave them thumbs up. "Clear," he said.

Smiling, Hiccup ran forward, Toothless, Astrid and everyone else close behind him. Hiccup turned to face the others. "Heather, Thuggory, Camicazi, you stay out here with Stormfly, Hookfang, Meatlug and Barf and Belch. Keep out any Outcast that tries to enter."

"Yes sir, future King of the Wilderwest," Camicazi answered enthusiastically. "Wait!" Camicazi then fished around her pocket and brought out a rusted silver key. She handed it to Hiccup. "This might come in handy," she told him.

Hiccup nodded and took the key from Camicazi's hand. "The rest of us will head down to the dungeon and bust out my dad." Without saying another word, Hiccup darted down the stone staircase. As he did, he felt a surge of deja vu, remembering how he had to do a similar thing back in Fort Sinister. 'At least it provides experience,' he grumbled mentally.

Sure enough, the viking teens run into two more Outcasts who were guarding the stairway. Astrid, who brought her trusty battle axe with her, and Snotlout, quickly shot forward, each of them taking out one Outcast. A third one attempted to attack the pack, but was only met with a large slash from a tail by Toothless.

"You want me to add that to the Book of Dragons?" Fishlegs asked in a desperate attempt to calm him down. "'Avoid a Night Fury's tail when he's angry'."

The viking teens pressed forward. Ruffnut and Tuffnut were slightly trailing behind the others as they checked to see that no one was following them. Eventually, the staircase led to a stone corridor with several walls on the side. The place smelled like rotten flesh.

Looking around, Hiccup couldn't figure out which cell his father was in. Toothless immediately shot forward, sniffing the air. "You smell my dad, bud?" Hiccup questioned, curious. Toothless suddenly took off down the hall. Hiccup turned to look at Astrid for a moment before following Toothless.

At the edge of the corridor was a large metal cage with probably a dozen locks. As he ran, Hiccup barely managed to make out a dark figure chained to the wall. Feelings of relief, panic an excitement made their way through Hiccup's brain in an instant and his speed quickly increased. "Dad!" Hiccup yelled. Something in his gut tugged at him that it might be Alvin, but Hiccup quickly managed to shake it off.

The figure in the cell flinched slightly. Seconds later, Hiccup barely managed to stop himself from running straight into the metal bars of the cell. Gripping at the bars, Hiccup looked inside and saw his father. His brown beard and hair was a mess. His clothes were tattered. One by one, the other viking teens nearly crashed into the cell as well.

"Dad..." Hiccup whispered.

Stoick looked up at his son. "Ah, Hiccup," he said. "I was wondering when would you get down here." Berk's chief slowly began to smile.

Hiccup felt like a giant weight was lifted off his chest. "Dad, so you're...alright?" Hiccup asked, worriedly. "When I got back to Berk they said that you were-"

"Distraught by the fact that I thought that you were dead?" Stoick finished for his son. "For a moment, I was. But after a while, I figured that it would take more than that to bring a Haddock down. After all, we are vikings."

"It's an occupational hazard," replied a chuckling Hiccup. "Though I'm surprised that Alvin managed to keep you down."

"Well, I have no idea how many chains I managed to break," Stoick told his son. "I guess I don't know my own strength." Stoick peered over his son to see the rest of the viking teens standing there, panting. "Well it's great to see all of you kids here. But I can't believe Gobber let you all go."

"We couldn't let your son come here alone, chief," answered a determined Astrid. "And I'm sure you would feel a little better that Hiccup has some back up." Stoick nodded. "Now can you please get these chains off? I have the urge to scratch."

Laughing slightly, Hiccup brought out Camicazi's key and pushed it into the keyhole of Stoick's cell. With a click, the cell's door swung open. Hiccup rushed it and drew his sword, swiftly cutting off at least a dozen of his father's chains. As soon as the last one was freed, Hiccup found that his father's large viking arms were around him and that he was choking for air.

"Dad, you can let me go now," Hiccup wheezed. Stoick unwrapped his arms around his son. "I'm proud of you, son," said Stoick, putting a hand on Hiccup's shoulder.

Suddenly several shouts could be heard as all the guards along the dungeon piled in front of the viking teens and their chief. Hiccup began to step forward. "Don't worry, dad. We can handle them."

Stoick gestured for his son to stay back. "While I spent time in that cell, I had to listen to Alvin and his witch of a mother explain about the prophecy about the King of the Wilderwest. Save your strength. I can handle these Outcasts."

"But dad, don't you need to fight Alvin?" asked a confused Hiccup. "You're much stronger and the prophecy applies to you as well."

"I've never obtained any of the King's Lost Things," Stoick told his son. "I think Fate is saying that I'm not a candidate for the throne. But you, Hiccup, the Things have been throwing themselves at you! You are the one who's destined to defeat Alvin, not me. Besides, in all those days in prison, Alvin barely gave me anything to eat or drink. I'm not in the best shape so I might not be good enough to beat him. But I do have enough strength to show these Outcasts a thing or two if they mess with the chief of Berk!"

Stoick gently pushed the viking teens (and Toothless) aside before landing several punches to the faces of the Outcast men. Some he kicked and others he gave blows through the torso and neck. In a couple of seconds, a pile of unconscious Outcasts lay on the floor of the dungeon.

"So?" Stoick began, slightly impatient. "Lead the way."

Smiling, the viking teens darted back the way they came and back up the stairs, careful not to step on the fallen Outcasts. Back up at the entrance of the dungeon, Heather was waiting for Hiccup and his party to return. She and the other viking heirs quickly exchanged polite greetings before going back to fighting the large horde of Outcast Warriors that continued to grow.

"Go," said Stoick to his son. "Get to Alvin and finish this battle. Then a new era can begin."

Nodding, Hiccup turned to Heather. She pointed to the right. "Keep going this way. You'll eventually find a large staircase that leads up to the highest point of the underground hideout. That's Alvin's 'throne room'."

"Thanks, Heather," Hiccup replied quickly. "Camicazi! Astrid! Thuggory! We're going! The rest of you, you know what to do."

Following Hiccup's call, Camicazi and Thuggory sheathed their swords, breaking their formation from fighting the Outcast men. Toothless ran after his rider, lashing his tail at any Outcast that tried to attack them. This wasn't how it was back on Grimbeard's Despair. He was not being caught on surprise. He was on guard, alert, and making sure that no one was going to interfere with Hiccup's destiny.

After a few moments, the number of Outcasts began to die down, as if Alvin was planning for Hiccup to come here. Eventually, Hiccup, Astrid, Thuggory, Camicazi and Toothless found themselves standing in front of a staircase, just as Heather told them. The viking teens stopped running for a moment, eager to catch their breath.

Hiccup was breathing heavily. More from being nervous rather than tired. He rested plenty after the battle with Norbert, and before the Battle for Berk in order to regain his strength for this particular battle.

"You ready?" Astrid asked him, placing a hand on his shoulder. Hiccup turned to Camicazi and Thuggory, who all gave him reassuring nods with excited and courageous gleams in their eyes. Toothless nudged his back. Hiccup couldn't help but smile at their resolve and determination.

"Let's go!" said Hiccup sternly. Nodding in reply, the four viking teens and the Night Fury darted up the stairs to Alvin's throne room. The four of them started gathering up their energy, ready to give the following battle everything they've got.

"Alvin's just up the end of this staircase!" Astrid shouted to the others.

"So I finally get to kick this guy's ass!" Thuggory added excitedly.

"I'll kick it more times that you," sneered Astrid in reply.

"Careful guys," Camicazi began. "Alvin's a warrior either equal to, or on a greater level than any of our parents."

"And Norbert as well," Thuggory quickly added. None of the teens were getting tired or backing down. They were already over half way up the staircase.

"We're going to have to go all out on him at the same time!" Camicazi suggested.

"We don't have time to think about what happens if we don't win," Astrid continued.

"He'd better be saying his prayers!" exclaimed Thuggory. At this point, the viking teens reached the end of the staircase and stood in front of a large door. Hiccup took a deep breath in, calming himself. "After what you did to Berk..." Hiccup began before placing a hand on his hilt. "Don't think I'll forgive you so easily!"

Hiccup suddenly stepped to the side as Toothless gathered up a massive amount of firepower and shot it right at the door, blowing it up to pieces, sending dust and debris everywhere.

Slowly, the dust cleared, revealing five solidly standing figures at the entrance of a large room. At the other end, Alvin stood up in surprise, along with his Excellinor. The viking teens and Toothless stepped forward.

"Alvin!" Hiccup shouted passionately. The Outcast chief didn't say anything. A demonic smirk curled up lips. Sitting behind Alvin's throne was a dark purple creature. A Skrill. It looked terrified of it's rider, but Alvin got on it's back nonetheless and quickly flew out an exit carved in the ceiling of the room.

"Is he...running away?" asked Astrid. Hiccup narrowed his eyebrows. "No, he isn't," Hiccup answered. "He's calling me out!" Quickly, Hiccup hopped onto Toothless. "Let's go, bud," he told his dragon before Toothless suddenly shot into the air, following the carved exit. As Hiccup flew off, Astrid redirected her gaze back to Excellinor.

"Who's the creepy witch dude?" Thuggory commented as Excellinor started to walk forward. Her nails were unusually long and dyed with dark purple.

"Poison," Camicazi gulped. Excellinor, being the witch she was, cackled evilly. "If you want to get to your dragons and help your friend, you're going to have to go through me."

"You're on!" the three viking teens replied in unison.

Meanwhile, Hiccup found himself flying in early morning daylight. However, it wasn't as bright as it could be. Large clouds were coming in. Hiccup had his hand on his hilt, still carefully controlling Toothless' tail fin.

Hiccup sharply felt his gut tighten. A loud yell was suddenly heard from above. On instinct, Hiccup's eyes widened as he held his right arm up. Alvin's silver blade crashed onto Hiccup's arm guard. The boy winced at the force of the impact. Alvin was flying, on the Skrill. Hiccup saw the terror in the dragon's eyes but didn't falter.

"It's time we settled this, boy," Alvin snarled.

"You're right. It is," replied a dead serious Hiccup. Using his arm, Hiccup forced Alvin's blade backwards before pulling his right arm in, drawing his blade with his left hand. Hiccup's and Alvin's swords suddenly clashed. "This fight continues..." Hiccup started to say as Toothless shot the Skrill an angry growl. Alvin grinned sinisterly before he and Hiccup yelled passionately in unison-

"UNTIL ONLY ONE OF US REMAINS STANDING!"

_Current Date: February 29__th_

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We're finally at the climax! That running up the stairs scene was fun to write. Anyway, next chapter is going to conclude the battles!

Stoick and viking teens vs. Outcast Warriors

Astrid, Thuggory and Camicazi vs. Excellinor

Hiccup and Toothless vs. Alvin and the Skrill!

Thanks for reading!


	16. The Final Confrontations

First off, I'm _really _sorry about the wait. My life is just...to put it short, sjhdflkndrcgazsv. (sigh). I'm trying to finish this story as soon as possible. I still think I need to work out my kinks in battle sequences...

Anyways, what you've been waiting for: Chapter Sixteen.

**Chapter Sixteen: The Final Confrontations**

Unfortunately for Hiccup, Outcasts aren't very hygienic people, so Alvin's shouting showered Hiccup's face with spit and fowl breath. Hiccup retched as he lifted some weight of the stirrup, suddenly lowering Toothless' altitude. The sudden stop of force on Hiccup's blade forced Alvin and his Skrill to plummet forward. The Outcast chief growled as he tugged the Skrill's reins hard. The dragon roared in pain before stopping the sudden descent.

Hiccup wiped his forehead, slightly groaning. "Okay, this is just disgusting," he muttered. Quickly, Hiccup put his serious face back on. He whipped his head around to see Alvin charging at him with a war cry. Hiccup immediately pulled Toothless into an upward spiral, narrowly avoiding Alvin's the attack. The Outcast zipped right past them, barely being able to stop from crashing into the island.

Inside, Hiccup couldn't help but laugh. If anyone knew how hard it was to ride a dragon, it was him. The smile soon disappeared as Alvin's Skrill let out a burst of fire. Toothless suddenly counterattacked with a blast of his own, the force of two fireballs clashing created a loud _boom! _in the sky. Hiccup brought up his hand to shield his eyes from the light.

Alvin suddenly shot forward, holding his sword out. Instinctively, Hiccup pulled up his blade, barely being able to block Alvin's attempted slice for his arm. As their swords clashed, Hiccup winced. The speed of the Skrill combined with Alvin's strength hit him hard, sending vibrations all over his body.

Toothless turned around, allowing Hiccup to see Alvin charging forward again. This time, Hiccup clenched his jaws slightly before allowing Toothless to shoot forward as well. Hiccup quickly swung his sword, making contact with Alvin's. The large impact nearly knocked Hiccup's sword clean out of his hand. For a second, Hiccup managed to catch a glimpse of Alvin glaring at him as their swords clashed. A second later, they flew past each other.

However, Hiccup didn't stop this time. He immediately brought Toothless into a dive, heading down towards Outcast Island as Hiccup's brain quickly scanned the situation.

Heading up into the sky, Hiccup would be able to have Toothless blend in with the clouds, sneak attacking on Alvin as he did with the Green Death. However, he was dealing with the Skrill, another master of stealth and known to ride lightning. It would give Alvin the advantage.

Seeing Outcast Island grow closer, Hiccup turned away. Toothless skimmed just above the sea. Hiccup couldn't have Toothless fly at full speed, not with him engaged in sword combat with Alvin. As if on cue, Alvin came right at them from behind. Hiccup defected the blow with his arm guard before pulling Toothless upward, flying in an arc right over Alvin. The Night Fury flew steadily just behind the Skrill.

"Plasma blast!" Hiccup quickly told Toothless as the Night Fury fired. Alvin forced the Skrill to the left, narrowly avoiding the attack. 'How much has he been practicing?' Hiccup growled mentally. It took him months to be able to fly like this. But it seems that Alvin gained all the basics in a matter of days.

Hiccup opened Toothless' tail fin, slowing them down as Alvin continued to fly forward. Hiccup made a turn back for Outcast Island, eyeing the several rocks rising up from the sea. His right hand gripped Toothless' saddle as his left clung onto his sword.

Alvin may have gotten all the basics, but Hiccup knows that he has the advantage in experience. But Alvin is the superior warrior, skilled in all weapons and extremely resourceful. Providing that Hiccup is forced to fight Alvin one on one, blade on blade, his chances of winning would drop to almost zero. Hiccup narrowed his eyes with determination. If Hiccup was going to beat Alvin, he was going to have to beat him where he was the one having the advantage: in the sky.

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Meanwhile, in the bowels of Outcast Island, Stoick roared as he pulled an axe away from a charging Outcast and quickly knocked him out before continuing to attack. The viking teens paused for a moment, looking at the viking chief fight.

"Maybe we shouldn't be getting in his way," Fishlegs whispered nervously.

"We have to," Heather answered. "No matter how strong Stoick is he can't do everything on his own. Besides, let's show them what Berk and their Dragon Trainers can do!"

Nodding, Fishlegs gestured for Meatlug to fire straight at the Outcasts. Snotlout charged forward with Hookfang into the crowd. While I would like to say that this was just another one of Snotlout's tall tales, he did considerably well. Parrying attacks, thrusting blows. He even ducked so that Hookfang would hit one of the Outcasts for him.

Heather stood beside Stormfly, directing her on where to shoot Outcasts. The Nadder would often attack their weapons or pin them to the walls. Barf and Belch and the twins were slightly away from all the others, heading down through a corridor. The large Zippleback barely managed to make it through, but it was efficient in knocking out approaching Outcasts.

"Excuse us," Ruffnut said playfully.

"We're just passing by," Tuffnut added. "You wouldn't mind telling us where your armory is would you?" He suddenly paused. "Wait, are we going to _get _weapons or are we supposed to _destroy _their weapons?" His eyes lit up. "I hope we get to break them to bits. I love breaking weapons."

Ruffnut agreed with her brother. Eventually, they reached a large room simply decorated with blades, armors, protective gear and shields. Smiling at each other each of the twins hopped onto their dragon's heads.

One head breathed out a cloud of green gas into the room. The whole dragon took a few steps backwards. Ruffnut grinned on her head of the Zippleback. It seemed that her brother read her mind. "Fire in the whole!"

With that, a spark shot out from the other Zippleback head, igniting the green gas and causing the Outcast Armory to burst into flames. A loud explosion ripped through the corridors. The Twin's faces were slightly scorched with soot, but other than that, they gave each other a good thumbs up. Slowly, Barf and Belch turned, making their way back to the remaining of the group from Berk.

Heather found himself slammed in the stomach by a large Outcast. Stormfly quickly reacted by firing her spikes. Snotlout was knocked away from Hookfang as a swarm of Outcasts started to come towards him.

Fishlegs was exhausted and all the days of malnutrition were finally bringing Stoick down. Tired, Fishlegs slumped down next to Heather. "There are too many of them," he panted. Heather was also trying to keep her breath under control. "We can't give up now. Hiccup's counting on us."

Suddenly, a familiar war cry was heard. The Outcasts surrounding Snotlout were suddenly pushed aside as a group of vikings strode proudly.

"Gobber!" Stoick breathed. His friend stood in front of him, holding his hand out. Behind Gobber stood Mulch, Sven, Spitelout and a few more viking warriors from Berk. Stoick grabbed Gobber's hand as the blacksmith pulled the chief back up to his feet.

"You didn't think I'd let your son and a bunch of teenage vikings come to an enemy's island by myself, did you?" Gobber asked, teasingly. Stoick chuckled in reply. Soon, Barf and Belch returned with Ruffnut and Tuffnut sitting on their heads. Stoick's face became determined once again. "We're going to hold them off until my son gets back!"

Fishlegs and Heather exchanged encouraging looks as Snotlout got back on Hookfang, determined to set the place on fire.

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Thuggory cursed as the collar of his shirt was caught by Excellinor's deadly nails. The purple poison started to soak themselves into his shirt. Thuggory gritted his teeth. He wanted to swing his sword so badly, but it was knocked out of his reach just as he attacked the witch.

"Let him go!" Camicazi roared as she shot forward. Excellinor gave her an annoyed look. "If you insist." Excellinor suddenly threw Thuggory towards Camicazi, making the Meathead crash right into the young Bog Burglar making her yelp and resulting in the two getting themselves tangled.

"I know you're trying to help," Thuggory began as he pulled his arm away, "but it's not exactly working."

"I don't see you doing that much of a better job," Camicazi muttered.

"Good point."

Astrid quickly rushed over to her friends and tried to pull Camicazi away before she ripped Thuggory's head off for getting on her nerves. Astrid suddenly gasped when she saw Excellinor charging towards them. She abruptly dropped Camicazi(making her yelp again) before bringing her axe up to block Excellinor's blow. Her right nails made a screeching sound as she ran them through the axe, making Astrid wince.

Excellinor attempted to grab Astrid with her left hand, but the young warrior noticed it in time to jump away, the witch just barely being able to grab a few fibers of Astrid's shirt.

Berk's star athlete took a few steps backwards. She was soon joined by Camicazi and Thuggory.

"How strong is she?" Astrid growled.

"I doubt her age," Camicazi muttered in reply.

"This is going nowhere," Thuggory added. The three viking teenagers looked straight in front of them. Excellinor still was in good shape. Astrid examined where Excellinor attempted to grab her. No damage seems to have been done except for the smudge of a dark purple liquid. She groaned. "Great, I'm going to have to wash that."

Gripping his sword, Thuggory scoffed. "We're getting beaten by some old witch? I'm offended." With that, Thuggory shot forward.

"Wait!" Astrid yelled but she was too late. Thuggory was already in front of Excellinor. Unfortunately, the witch saw it coming and with one swift movement, she dug her nails right through the Meathead's stomach.

A dreadful silence filled the room for a moment. "Thuggory!" Camicazi screamed. Astrid still stood, wide eyed. A second later, she snapped. Quickly, Astrid ran towards Excellinor with incredible speed.

Astrid used the wooden handle of her axe and jabbed it into Excellinor's chest, forcing her to be thrown backwards. Thuggory was dropped down onto the floor. Camicazi was soon by his side.

Astrid bit her lip. "You child of a half troll!" she shouted.

Excellinor slowly got back up to her feet. "Only the child of a half troll? I must say, I'm offended," she purred. "I thought I was much more villainous than that. I must be losing my touch."

That statement only made Astrid and Camicazi's blood boil. The young Bog Burglar looked down at her friend. A small red stain was beginning to appear on Thuggory's shirt. His arms suddenly felt like lead, soon followed by the rest of his body. Thuggory winced sharply.

"Thuggory!" Camicazi cried, worriedly. The Meathead gave her a small weak yet reassuring smile. "Don't worry," he said. "A small wound like that won't kill me." He paused for a moment. "It's the poison I'm worried about. More like paralysis."

"Paralysis?" Astrid repeated. She turned to face Excellinor, an idea suddenly popping into her brain. "Camicazi!" she called.

Hearing Astrid, Camicazi stepped away from Thuggory and went to stand beside her friend. Astrid took a deep breath in. "Camicazi, wait for my signal," she said. Camicazi nodded in reply.

Gathering her guts, Astrid walked forward. A moment later, she stood one-on-one to Excellinor. The two stood opposite from each other. Slowly, they began to circle the other.

Camicazi watched in worry. Thuggory forced his head to turn despite the pain. He knew that this was going to be Astrid and Camicazi's moment. He didn't want to miss a single moment.

Excellinor smiled a wicked grin before suddenly shooting forward. In the seconds Excellinor closed in on her, Astrid's brain seemed to slow everything else down as her thoughts went by in a flash.

She thought of that day in the training arena when she sparred with Hiccup. A grin curled up her face. As Excellinor closed in on her, Astrid swung her axe just in time to block Excellinor's right hand. The witch grinned. "You're wide open."

The simple remark made Astrid smile even more. "Nope, you are." Astrid smirked. "Camicazi!"

Excellinor immediately realized her mistake. Growling, she attempted to bring her left hand into Astrid's torso. Just before it touched, Excellinor's eyes widened as her poisoned nails clashed against a silver blade. Camicazi quickly pushed against Excellinor's force.

Astrid neatly flicked her wrist, pushing Excellinor's nails backwards. Astrid shot her free arm forward, grabbing Excellinor's wrist. In a swift movement, Astrid forced Excellinor's own nails into her own torso. The witch screamed as her body fell to the ground. Astrid quickly let go as Excellinor fell limp on the floor. Her dark eyes glared at the two viking teenagers.

For a moment, Astrid shuddered. "I am never touching that hag ever again."

Camicazi gave Astrid a laugh. The two teenagers walked back to Thuggory who was smiling back at him. Camicazi sighed as she hauled Thuggory over her back. "Now we just have to find a way to get to Hiccup."

As if on cue, a familiar sound was heard. Astrid turned to the room's entrance to see Stormfly standing there. Grinning, Astrid gestured Camicazi over. She ran with Thuggory thumping on her back. "Hey, watch who you're carrying," he mumbled.

Getting to Stormfly, Astrid looked down the stairs to where the rest of the viking teens and people from Berk were fighting. She could have sworn she saw Heather turn to give her a smile. Astrid climbed onto Stormfly, holding an arm out for Camicazi to grab. The Bog Burglar pulled herself onto the Deadly Nadder, making sure Thuggory wasn't going to slip.

"Stormfly, up," Astrid instructed. The Deadly Nadder lifted off. Astrid directed Stormfly up through the opening in the roof. Popping up above Outcast Island, Astrid landed Stormfly on top of the rocky surface. She gestured for Camicazi to hop off, which she did. Looking up into the sky, the three viking teenagers could make out two figures in the air. Undoubtably, they were Hiccup and Alvin.

"Astrid, what are you doing?" Camicazi asked, concerned.

"I'm going to help Hiccup," Astrid replied sternly. She was about to have Stormfly take off when Thuggory immediately told her to stop. Astrid eyed Thuggory suspiciously. "I have to help my friend when he's having trouble!"

Thuggory forced himself to look at Astrid. "You don't understand," he choked out. Inside, he was hoping the poison was going to wear off soon. "When a viking heir or chief engages in a one-on-one battle with an opponent of the same or similar status, it's a fight to the end. Any assistance to any of the fighters will result in elimination."

Astrid's gaze darkened. She turned to look at Camicazi, hoping to get a second opinion. Camicazi nodded solemnly. "It's true. If you or any one of us goes to help Hiccup, we are practically forfeiting the fight to Alvin." Camicazi sighed. "If there's anything we can do, it's have faith in Hiccup."

Following Camicazi's gaze, Astrid stared at the aerial battle. Inside, Astrid realized that Camicazi was right. Astrid clenched her fists. 'Hiccup _will _win'.

_Current Date: February 29th _

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Initially, I was going to include Hiccup's complete battle in this chapter, but after finishing up Astrid, Camicazi and Thuggory's fight, I noticed that it would be too long. Don't worry, it's the weekend so I'll be sure to write as much as I can!


	17. Duel For the Throne

Hmm...chopping off Hiccup's battle in the last chapter gave me a whole 2,000 words(minimum word limit for each of my chapters) for it! Whoo! The following chapter contains elements that were inspired by all the stuff I'm watching, specifically anime. :3

**Chapter Seventeen: Duel For the Throne**

Up high in the sky, Hiccup was unaware that he had spectators who was eager to know the outcome of his battle. He was simply too distracted keeping his head attached to his neck and all of his (remaining) limbs intact.

Turning his head around, Hiccup saw Alvin right behind him. Alvin smirked. "What's wrong, boy?" he sneered. "All you're doing is running around the island. This isn't much fun as I thought." It was then that Alvin's eyes wandered to the group of small viking teens standing on top of Outcast Island. Hiccup followed the Outcast Chief's gaze, his heart sinking as he did.

Toothless suddenly roared, effectively snapping Hiccup back to his senses. Whipping his head forward, Hiccup saw that they were flying directly into one of the large rocks surrounding Outcast Island. Yelping, Hiccup instinctively pulled Toothless to the right. Alvin, on the Skrill, lurched to the left.

Looking above him, Hiccup could see Alvin still with that devious smirk on his face. "I think I'm going to go play with the spectators for a while," he cooed. "Stop me if you can." With that, Alvin and the Skrill started flying straight towards the viking teens.

Hiccup gritted his teeth. Using his left foot, he adjusted Toothless' tail, earning a sudden burst of speed. Alvin started closing in on the vikings just as they noticed that he was coming straight towards them.

Astrid's eyes widened. "Look out!" she yelled. Camicazi immediately dropped to the ground, earning her whiny complaints from the Meathead on her back. Alvin was approaching at such a high speed that she knew she won't have enough time to get on Stormfly's back and fly away. The Outcast was charging, pointing his sword right forward.

A few seconds later, a flurry of black and green suddenly appeared in front of Alvin. A silver blade clashed with Alvin's sword. The Outcast grunted in surprise as soon as he realized Hiccup had flown fast enough to prevent him from attacking the viking teens. In the second Alvin saw Hiccup's face, Berk's heir had his don't-touch-my-friends-or-I'll-kill-you glare.

Toothless didn't stop as soon as their swords collided. The Night Fury continued to fly forward. Growling, Alvin kicked the Skrill hard in the stomach before following Hiccup.

The moment Alvin and the Skrill darted after Hiccup, Camicazi slowly got up from the ground and placed Thuggory down. Astrid exhaled slowly, calming herself down. She turned to face Camicazi who had a sheepish grin on her face. "Did we forget to mention that the fighters can do anything to the spectators?"

"Yeah, I think I noticed," Astrid groaned. Her annoyed look soon turned into one filled with worry. 'Hiccup, please be alright'.

"He will be," Thuggory suddenly said, earning the attention of Astrid and Camicazi. The Meathead gave the girls a forced smile. "We all know that Haddock's too stubborn to die."

Astrid chuckled in reply. "So true."

Meanwhile, Hiccup steered Toothless down towards one of the large rocks surrounding Outcast Island. He pulled the dragon up behind one of the large pillars. Toothless flapped his wings, hovering above the sea. He eyed his rider worriedly.

Panting, Hiccup placed a hand over his heart. His left hand still gripped his sword tightly. Hiccup tried to steady his breathing and calm himself down. Toothless purred softly.

"It's alright, bud," Hiccup wheezed at his dragon. "I'm fine. Just a little nervous." Being the heir of Berk, Hiccup knew the rules of a one-on-one battle very well. Astrid, Camicazi or any other of his friends would not be allowed to interfere with his and Alvin's battle. However, he and Alvin were free to do whatever they want with the spectators.

Hiccup furrowed his eyebrows. Alvin could easily attempt to attack his friends again in an attempt to make Hiccup lose his patience and stealth. Hiccup could attempt to move them to a safer place, but Alvin could both attack them during the transfer and at the new location. Either way, Hiccup couldn't stall this battle. The hidden 60th day as arrived. And a new King will be chosen on this day.

Suddenly, Toothless' ears perked up as he suddenly shot upwards, making Hiccup exclaim in surprise and almost dropped his sword. Looking below, Hiccup noticed that a stream of fire blew up the rock they were just behind. Gulping, Hiccup turned and saw Alvin approaching him quickly on the Skrill.

"There's no running from me, Hiccup!" Alvin roared. Hiccup gritted his teeth. 'I don't have a choice,' he quickly thought. 'I have to beat him before things get out of hand for me'. The Outcast charged quickly with the Skrill. With his sword pointed forward, Hiccup was suddenly snapped out of his thoughts but was too late to dodge the attack. Swiftly, Alvin's sword pierced Hiccup's right sleeve, cutting into his skin just below the shoulder.

A sharp pain shot through Hiccup's whole arm. As Alvin flew by, Hiccup could have sworn he saw the Outcast Chief smirk at him. Hiccup winced as he used a few fingers from his left hand to rub the new wound, careful to not drop the sword. Hiccup could feel a warm liquid touching his fingers.

Toothless turned and growled angrily at Alvin. Hiccup blinked a few times while pushing the pain to the back of his mind. At the corner of his eye, Hiccup could see Alvin flying back towards Outcast Island, just gliding just above the sea. Toothless immediately went into a dive. The Night Fury pushed itself to be of equal speed of the Skrill. Hiccup steadily stood up on Toothless' saddle, pushing more weight onto his right foot so Toothless' tail won't be affected.

Alvin grinned. "You're still up for this, boy?" It was obvious that Alvin was hoping that the wound he inflicted on Hiccup was taking it's toll. But it was also obvious that Hiccup was not ready to back down when he suddenly lashed his sword forward at Alvin, successfully creating a cut on the Outcast's wrist. Alvin's eyes widened in surprise. 'Impossible!' he thought, 'I can't get wounded by a brat like this.'

Roaring, Alvin too stood up on the Skrill. He quickly brought his sword down towards Hiccup. The young viking pulled his blade upwards. Growling, Hiccup pushed against Alvin's blade. A grinding sound was made as Hiccup forced Alvin's blade to the left.

Alvin didn't waste a single moment to falter. He swiftly brought his sword back and shot it forward again. Toothless, sensing Alvin's movements, moved forward slightly, allowing Hiccup to dodge the attack that could have stabbed him in the stomach. However, the sudden burst of speed caused Hiccup to lose his balance and he suddenly fell onto Toothless' saddle. Seeing that they were about to crash into Outcast Island, Hiccup exclaimed in surprise before pulling Toothless upwards.

Unbeknownst to them, the Skrill was looking at the pair of dragon and rider in a curious way. Alvin kicked it back to it's senses. The Skrill prepared to fire. Hiccup barely noticed it in time when he sat back down, sheathed his sword and pulled Toothless upwards, narrowly avoiding the blast. Alvin growled as he gestured for the Skrill to fire again, aiming directly for Toothless' abdomen. The Night Fury on Hiccup's control turned in an arc right above the blast. As soon as it turned straight once again, Toothless fired towards the Skrill, hitting it in it's stomach. The dragon roared in pain before it started to fall downwards. At this point, Hiccup and Alvin had already flown into the skies above Outcast Island.

With Toothless flying over the large rocky island, Hiccup looked below him to see Astrid and Camicazi looking up towards them. He was unsure if they could see the wound on his arm, but Hiccup was certain that he saw Thuggory on the ground, struggling to keep conscious. Toothless stared at Stormfly who looked like she was going to fly up to them any second.

With a bright flash, Toothless suddenly dropped. The dragon started to swirl out of control. Quickly, Hiccup sheathed his sword and gripped Toothless' saddle tightly, trying to get their altitude back as the duo began to fall down towards Outcast Island.

A second later, a thought hit Hiccup like a ton of bricks. The only time when Toothless went out of control like this was then his tail was struck by lightning. Hiccup didn't need to turn around to know that Alvin signaled the Skrill at Toothless' tail-fin.

Alvin laughed maniacally, certain of his victory. "I win, boy." Determined to head over and finish Hiccup off, Alvin kicked the Skrill hard in the stomach. Added with the power of Toothless' impact, the Skrill gave into the pain and Alvin found himself in a similar situation Hiccup. The Outcast Chief growled angrily. "Get up you stupid lizard!" he yelled.

Hiccup's vision was completely spinning. If he hadn't been in the same situation before, he would have lost his breakfast. Hiccup could see the rocky cliff right below them. With a loud roar, Hiccup could feel himself being turned vertically as Toothless forced Hiccup to be sitting upright on top of him during the fall. Hiccup's eyes widened.

"Toothless," he began but was utterly out of breath. "What are you-" Before Hiccup could say anything else, he felt the hard impact of a crash vibrating all over his body. He was thrown off Toothless and sent tumbling forward. His torso was the first to smash against the hard stone floor, but Hiccup found that he quickly slid to a stop.

And for a moment, the young viking did not move.

Astrid's eyes suddenly enlarged as soon as she saw the Skrill shoot at Toothless' tail. Camicazi gasped in surprise. Thuggory forced one eye to open but other than that, he didn't really bother to budge.

"Hiccup!" the two girls screamed in unison. Astrid's heart was beating incredibly hard, hoping that Hiccup was alright. The screech of a Deadly Nadder suddenly brought Astrid back to reality. She immediately rushed over to Stormfly and managed to grab her saddle just as the Nadder prepared to take off.

"No, girl!" Astrid told Stormfly sternly. "You can't go after them!" Stormfly and Toothless were nearly as close as their riders. Inside, Astrid knew that Stormfly cared about Toothless as much as she cared about Hiccup. It pains her to see them like this and not help. Her eyes began to sting as Stormfly calmed down upon seeing the face of her rider.

"Astrid?" Camicazi began in a shaking voice, on the verge of tears. "Hiccup won't die ...will he?"

Astrid balled up her fists before turning to face Camicazi. She too struggled to hold in tears. "Hey Hiccup!" Astrid shouted towards the sky. "You don't come back alive, I'm going to kill you!"

Groaning, Hiccup's head pounded as he used his arms to weakly push his body off the ground. His eyes quickly widened once his brain remembered what was happening. Hiccup scrambled to his feet and turned, running straight towards a black dragon lying on the ground.

"Toothless!" Hiccup cried. Just now, his dragon used itself as a cushion to prevent it's rider from taking on a lot of damage. Toothless however, was now out of commission. Hiccup bit his lip. "Are you okay there, bud?" The Night Fury moaned in reply. Looking around him, Hiccup noticed that this was the same cliff Alvin threatened to throw Astrid off when they invaded Outcast Island.

Above him, Hiccup could hear Alvin's yelling as the Skrill flew over their heads, crashing down onto the floor just a couple of meters away from Hiccup and Toothless.

The Skrill and Alvin rolled along the ground for a while, the dragon crushing it's rider. The Skrill slowly got up, stepping far away from Alvin. Noticing this, Hiccup moved closer towards the dragon. Noticing the sword attached to Hiccup's belt, the Skrill flinched.

In the corner of his eye, Hiccup could see Alvin just starting to get up. "It's okay," Hiccup whispered to the Skrill in a kind voice. "I'm not like him. I won't hurt you." Hiccup took a single step forward and the Skrill immediately started to growl.

"Don't worry," said Hiccup. "Go. I'll make sure what he does to you he'll never do to any other dragon." The Skrill eyed the young boy suspiciously. Hiccup gave the dragon a smile. "I promise."

The eyes of the Skrill wandered to those of Toothless'. The Night Fury nodded it's head slightly and the Skrill understood. With a flap of it's wings, the Skrill forced itself to take off into the sky. Hiccup smiled once he saw that the dragon was once again free. However, he felt Alvin's gaze on him. Hiccup turned to see the Outcast Chief looking infuriated.

"You son of a half troll," Alvin growled. "You set free that good for nothing reptile."

Hiccup flinched slightly upon hearing Alvin's words. Was that really what he thought of dragons? The fact that they were tools and weapons and nothing else? Just the mere thought of it frustrated. Swiftly, Hiccup unsheathed his sword and charged forward.

Alvin neatly sidestepped before using the back of his hand to push against the face of Hiccup's sword, forcing it downwards. Hiccup's eyes widened. Alvin grinned as he slammed a fist into Hiccup's stomach, making the young viking cough up air. Using his other hand, Alvin grabbed Hiccup's neck and pushed it right onto the ground.

As he began to choke, Hiccup gripped his sword slightly before swinging it Alvin's face, creating a cut on the Outcast's face. Hiccup then proceeded to swing his sword at Alvin's torso, effectively cutting through his armor and down right into his skin. Alvin immediately jumped off Hiccup in surprise.

"This is ridiculous," Alvin grumbled. "I didn't see you have this much power and skill when we faced off before."

"I was different back then," Hiccup answered with a slightly arrogant tone. Snarling angrily, Alvin drew his sword and swung it straight at Hiccup's hip. Seeing it as a log from the Thawfest games, Hiccup nimbly leaped over it. Alvin swung for his head and Hiccup neatly ducked before bringing his sword up, the point of the blade facing Alvin's face.

Alvin brought out his blade and parried the blow before a sinister smirk curled up his lips. "You may have gotten stronger," Alvin began evilly, "but you are still Stoick's little embarrassment." With that, Alvin forced Hiccup's sword backwards before swinging his sword at Hiccup's left leg, slicing the side of his thigh.

Hiccup's eyes widened as a large of pain swept all over his body. While Hiccup was in shock, Alvin thrusted his blade forward, creating a large cut on Hiccup's right torso. Hiccup grimaced as he felt like his upper body was on fire. His hand instinctively went to grip his torso in agony.

Grinning in satisfaction, Alvin took a few steps backwards as Hiccup's body fell forward onto the floor. Drops of red liquid decorated the ground. Toothless forced a small roar but his wings and body felt horrible. The Night Fury could barely move.

Hiccup's face was contorted with pain. Using his right arm, Hiccup attempted to get back up, only to move a few inches above the ground before doubling over due to his injuries. Another jolt of pain spread across his entire body.

Alvin laughed in a triumphal manner. "Is this really what the other candidate for the throne can do? No wonder Fate has chosen me, Alvin the Treacherous as King of the Wilderwest! And once you head up to Valhalla, I'll make sure to take excellent care of that dragon of yours."

Gritting his teeth, Hiccup tried once more to lift himself off the ground. This time, he barely moved at all. Hiccup laid there, powerless as Alvin turned away from him. Even though Hiccup saw his back, he knew that Alvin had a large smile on his face.

Every muscle on his body throbbed and ached. He has clearly passed his limit. It would be a miracle if he could even stand up. Slowly, spots of darkness started to close in on Hiccup's vision. Hiccup cursed himself. 'Damn it. Is this really as far as I go?' His eyes started to lower on their own accord. At this point, Hiccup bit his lip as the pain continued to spread throughout his entire body. 'Sorry, this is where my story ends,' Hiccup mentally told no one in particular. 'You guys have to take it from here'. Slowly, Hiccup allowed his eyelids to flutter close, accepting that this was how it was all going to end. Toothless' worried roars seemed so far to Hiccup that it was like a distant echo, growing fainter every second.

Suddenly, an image of Astrid popped right into Hiccup's mind. He had an image of Astrid in his brain. And she was smiling. Astrid's hands were on her hips. "Come on, Hiccup!" she said brightly. "Don't tell me you're giving up now."

Hiccup was still confused to why was he seeing Astrid at a time like this. His friend stood out from all the darkness in his vision. But slowly, another person appeared beside her. Upon seeing her tangled blonde hair, Hiccup immediately knew it was-

'Camicazi?' Hiccup choked out mentally. 'You're here ...too?' The vision in his mind zoomed out to see that his friends were standing in front of his fallen body.

Just like Astrid, the young Bog Burglar had a grin on her face. An encouraging grin. Another figure appeared to Astrid's other side. An image of a smirking Thuggory came into Hiccup's view. "Hey Hiccup!" Thuggory called to him playfully. "When we get back, duel me!"

In his mind, Hiccup stared at his friends. 'How could you guys be smiling at a time like this?!' But deep down, Hiccup already knew the answer.

They haven't given up on him. Or on anything.

Looking closer, Hiccup began to remember those smiles. It was when they were eating together. Or flying together. Or joking together. Happy memories in the archipelago. Hiccup suddenly remembered his first flight with Astrid and how he had brought joy to her.

In front of Astrid, an image of a hyperactive Toothless who was just jumping up and down, trying to get Hiccup to go flying appeared in his mind as well. Hiccup remembered Toothless, how when he saw the dragon wounded it never smiled once. Ever since they befriended each other, Toothless opened up and enjoyed his new life.

A life where they lived free, where humans and dragons lived together in harmony.

Suddenly, another image flashed through his mind. An image of Berk up in flames. Tattered ships, broken roofs, starving people. The image became more and more vivid, eventually allowing Hiccup to see enslaved people from all over the archipelago. His heart sank to the ground once he saw his friends in chains and towering over them, a triumphant Alvin.

As quickly as it came, the image disappeared and Hiccup saw his smiling friends once again. 'That's right,' Hiccup told himself.

Beside Camicazi and Thuggory, Hiccup saw Fishlegs, Snotlout, Ruffnut, Tuffnut and Heather. Figures stared to appear behind them. His father, Gobber, Mulch, Bucket. More people lined up right behind them. Everyone that Hiccup knew.

At that moment, Hiccup's eyes opened sharply. Alvin's laughing rang in his ears once again. But in the corner, Hiccup could still see Toothless looking at him, trying to get him to stand up again. Hiccup gave his dragon a weak grin. Toothless slowly gave his rider it's signature toothless grin.

Hiccup's body felt lighter. A sudden surge of adrenalin pulsed through his entire body. His right arm was suddenly filled with strength, but it felt numb. Bringing it up, Hiccup slammed his fist onto the rock, getting a small feeling of pain. Alvin immediately stopped laughing. He turned to face Hiccup with a surprised face.

The young viking slowly lifted himself off the ground, staring at Alvin with determined eyes. "That's right," Hiccup said, slightly smiling to himself. "I'm not fighting this battle alone. And I'm not fighting this battle for myself." The image of everyone he knew came flooding into view once again as Hiccup staggered to his feet.

"I'm fighting for everyone I care for!" he shouted proudly. Panting, Hiccup drew his sword. "I'm fighting so that everyone else can have a future to look forward too. There is no way I'm going to lose to an Outcast like you!"

Alvin chuckled at the sight in front of him. "You think you can still fight with wounds like that?" he scoffed, using his sword to point at Hiccup's injuries. "You're barely standing! How can you possibly defeat me?"

A mischievous smirk appeared on Hiccup's face. "Because I have those who don't give up on me," he replied sternly. "And I will never give up on them!" At the final word, Hiccup suddenly lunged forward, using a massive amount of the remaining energy.

With such speed, Alvin's eyes widened just as Hiccup's blade tore through his armor and sliced the side of his torso. Growling, Alvin threw his fist, attempting to hit Hiccup in the face. The boy neatly ducked and brought his sword up again, cutting the other side of Alvin's torso.

Enraged, Alvin swung his sword at Hiccup's. The Outcast's immense strength forced the boy to step backwards. Hiccup bit his lip before charging forward again, yelling as he did. Alvin pointed his blade downward, attempting to stab Hiccup's right foot. Just as Alvin's brought it down, Hiccup shifted his stance, making Alvin jab his sword right into Hiccup's left metal prosthetic.

Hiccup quickly swung for Alvin's sword, knocking it right out of his hands. The blade flew into the air before falling into the sea. Pointing his sword at Alvin, Hiccup forced him to the edge of the cliff.

Alvin clenched his teeth. 'Impossible! I lost to a boy like this?!'

Hiccup brought his sword backwards, ready to deliver the final blow. Alvin smirked mentally. 'If that's how Fate wants it, so it shall be'.

With a decisive move, Hiccup jabbed his blade into Alvin's stomach. The Outcast slowly fell backwards, his body leaving the last bits of the cliff. As the wind blew on Alvin's body, he felt his vision being covered by darkness. He didn't do anything to resist, accepting his fate.

Back on the cliff, Hiccup stood, panting. He could hear the wind blowing along with the sound of his breath. As things began to quiet down, Hiccup could hear the soft sound of waves crashing against the island. Exhausted, Hiccup stabbed his sword into the ground before sliding down to his knees. Slowly, he allowed himself to lie down on his back.

Toothless' ears suddenly perked up and seconds later, Hiccup realized why.

"Hiccup!" Astrid and Camicazi yelled in unison. Hiccup mustered a large chunk of strength and opened his eyes to see his friends looking down at him.

"Hiccup, are you alright?" Camicazi asked worriedly. Slowly, Hiccup began to smile. Eventually, he started laughing softly, gradually growing more cheerful, lively, and most importantly, victorious. Soon enough, Hiccup stopped laughing and a sarcastic frown appeared on his face.

"Worst birthday ever..."

_Current Date: February 29th _

––––––––

And thus the climax is complete! The next chapter will end the story!


	18. Coronation of the King

At long least I have reached the final chapter!

Thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing! It really means a lot. :3

**Chapter Eighteen: Coronation of the King**

The village of Berk was finally bustling, heading back towards being the busy village it was. After a whole week of dead silence, the island was rebuilding itself. The people were bringing out old ladders and pieces of wood were being hammered into houses.

This sight allowed to give Hiccup a smile when he returned to his home island during yesterday's sunset. To see his home rebuilding itself and filled with strong people, Hiccup couldn't help but feel courage well up inside of him. People have the will to move on and grow stronger, to overcome all obstacles that lie in front of them. Glancing at his left foot, Hiccup could still vividly remember that determination as if it was yesterday.

On the other hand, it was yesterday in which he was on the brink of death and his determination was what managed to save his life. Sighing exhaustedly, Hiccup leaned against the stone corridor of the Dragon Training Academy. He was standing at one of the newly made wings of the facility.

At the end, Hiccup could see a wooden stage. He could hear the talking, yelling and whispering of hundreds of vikings all around the arena, both in the building and outside on the surrounding edges.

Beside Hiccup sat Toothless. His sword still hung from his scabbard. Ever since his whole quest, Hiccup found that he felt more comfortable and at ease with his sword around. "I guess I might just start becoming like my father." He chuckled softly before feeling a sharp pain shoot through his torso. Hiccup grimaced slightly.

"Ow, ow, ow," he muttered. Slowly, his hands reached the end of his tunic and he pulled it up, revealing a heavily bandaged torso. Hiccup's left hand touched the wound gently and he flinched. Toothless purred worriedly. Hiccup dropped his tunic.

"It's okay, Toothless," Hiccup told his dragon soothingly. "I'm fine." Hiccup sighed again. He hands gently grabbed one of the wounds on his arms. "Seriously, after this, I'm going to be sleeping in my bed for three days." His fingers suddenly gripped his wound, making Hiccup wince. "Maybe I should sleep in for a whole week. I don't think I'll even fully recover in a month."

Hiccup turned to face Toothless as he brought his arm down and allowed them to hang loosely at his sides. "But I'm not going to fall asleep out here," he said, pushing himself into a solid standing position. "I've been fighting for this day. There's no way I'm going to make myself look like an idiot. Especially not with all my friends out there. I hear that even Runa and Hrani came today."

Toothless snorted playfully in reply. Hiccup smiled back at his dragon. He thought back to what happened after the battle with Alvin. Astrid had to carry Hiccup on her back because Camicazi had her hands full with Thuggory. The paralysis didn't wear off until two hours later and after that, Thuggory still had weird spasms.

They headed back to the throne room where they gathered the other of the King's Lost Things. From there, Stoick and Gobber came in and helped the teens carry the Things. Heading back to the center of Outcast Island, Snotlout and several vikings from Berk were standing victorious over piles and piles of defeated Outcasts. Many of them laughed at Snotlout's bragging.

The moment the other vikings saw Hiccup, Snotlout immediately lost his spotlight and they all came crashing over to Berk's young heir. Stoick had to order them all away. On the way back to Berk, Hiccup fell asleep and didn't remember seeing any other of the King's Lost Things other than Toothless and his sword before he did so.

The following morning, Hiccup was called awake by his father and Gobber, saying that this was going to be his "big day". He didn't need anymore hints that it was going to be his coronation. All he did was groan at the idea but knew that it was best to get things over with.

As the memories flowed steadily through his brain, a small smile appeared on Hiccup's face. His gaze landed on the stage that his father began to step on. The moment he did, the arena fell silent as everyone listened to what the chief had to say.

"People of the archipelago!" Stoick bellowed loudly. "Today, a new King, our rightful King will rise, for Alvin the Treacherous has been defeated!"

The crowd let out an incredible burst of cheers and whistling that it started Hiccup. It was so loud that he could no longer hear the sound of his heart pounding against his chest. Sure he was the one who barely managed to defeat Alvin, but that doesn't mean the other tribes were going to accept him as their new leader just like that. Beside Stoick, Gobber and Gothi, the village elder, stepped onto the stage.

"As you all know, Alvin has informed us of the prophecy of the next King of the Wilderwest!" Gobber declared. "However, I will repeat that prophecy to refresh your memories." With that, he brought out a scroll and started to read. As Gobber reread the prophecy, Hiccup's mind drifted to the time he discovered that rolled up piece of paper in his sword.

The sick and nauseous feeling he had in his stomach when he was reading the prophecy and how it seemed to be directed at him. It was then Hiccup realized that Gobber probably took the prophecy from his sword. Typical of the other viking teens to spill the beans.

When Gobber finished reading, he brought the scroll down and gestured for Stoick to continue. The chief nodded and turned to the crowd. "Without further ado, I give you your new King, my son, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third!"

Hiccup inhaled deeply before turning to Toothless. "Wish me luck, bud," he whispered before stepping out of the wing and up onto the stage. As Hiccup stood in front of the crowd, he looked down at the sea of people. Right at the center, he barely managed to make out Hrani and Runa in the crowd. They seem to be smiling at him.

The rest of the crowd however, was a completely different story. There wasn't any sounds of cheering or applause. Rather, the arena was filled with unease. Viking turned and leaned it to the people beside them. Hiccup managed to make out what they were whispering.

"Was this kid really the one who defeated Alvin the Treacherous?"

"A kid like this is going to look after our islands?"

"Isn't he a little too scrawny to be a king?"

Hiccup felt his stomach flip. Nervous, his eyes scanned the arena, looking for the faces of the rest of his friends. He really needed some encouragement. Sweat trickled down his face. 'Where are you guys?' Hiccup thought frantically. The whispering and murmuring in the arena grew louder. Stoick and Gobber exchanged worried glances.

"Hey everyone!" a loud female voice suddenly shouted. Noise in the arena immediately diminished. Hiccup's gaze was focused on a figure standing on the ring of the arena. The people behind her looked at her suspiciously. Hiccup heaved a sigh of relief. 'Astrid!'

Astrid grinned. "Are you people seriously doubting that Hiccup is your new King?" She earned nods and murmurs from the crowd. She sighed. "Well you don't have to!"

Astrid took a deep breath in. "People of Berk!" she yelled. "You've seen it with your own eyes what Hiccup has done for us. You've seen it with your own eyes how Hiccup created a world where humans and dragons could live together in peace. Why isn't there a reason that he shouldn't spread this harmony across the archipelago?"

Before the crowd could yell out anything that could ruin the ceremony, Astrid continued her speech. "Don't let your hatred of dragons cloud your judgement! It's been proven that we have what it takes to live with the dragons, and it has been proven that they will do whatever it takes to protect us! A peaceful world is a future we can grasp. And Hiccup can give us that future!"

"But what about the King's Lost Things?!" one of the spectators suddenly bellowed out. He earned a demanding response from the rest of the crowd. Astrid held up her hand, telling them to be quiet. "If it's the King's Lost Things you're looking for, Hiccup has all of them!"

Gently, people of the crowd were suddenly being pushed back all around the edge of the ring. Around the arena, a viking teen stood, all of them separated from each other, with an exception of the twins. Astrid was directly across, followed by Thuggory, Fishlegs, Heather, Camicazi right behind him, then Snotlout and the Twins.

"Item number one!" Astrid bellowed. "The rarest of dragons!" On cue, Toothless suddenly pounced onto the stage excitedly. Slightly panicking, Hiccup walked over to his dragon and placed a hand on his nose, telling the Night Fury to calm down. The crowd was clearly shocked by this.

"Item number two!" Astrid continued before pointing straight at Hiccup. "Grimbeard's favorite and second best sword is hanging right off Hiccup's belt."

"Item number three!" Snotlout shouted, earning the crowd his attention. The jock held up a beautifully carved blade. "The Knife!"

"Item number four!" The gaze of the crowd suddenly shifted to Fishlegs. Reaching into his pocket, Fishlegs unrolled an old portrait. "The painting!"

"Item number five!" the twins exclaimed in unison, holding a large rectangular object over their heads. "The Roman Shield!" By now, Hiccup was staring at his friends in awe. He didn't have the words to react to what they were doing. And they clearly weren't finished.

"Item number six!" Heather shouted. She held a brilliant red stone in her hand. Light gently reflected off it and the stone could be seen clearly. "The Ruby Stone!"

"Item number seven!" Thuggory boomed, holding his fist in the air. A small mechanic noise radiated from it and could be heard by the nearby spectators. The young Meathead had a smirk on his face. "The Ticking Thing!" At this point, many of the vikings were whispering to each other how a Meathead could be an ally of their supposed King.

"Item number eight!" Camicazi roared. She held both her hands over her head and they held a beautiful and glimmering gold head accessory. "The crown!"

"And last but not least," Astrid began, fishing around her pocket. The crowd turned to her just as she pulled out-

"Item number nine! The Dragon Jewel!" Bright sunlight reflected off the amber stone, surprising every person in the arena. Astrid had a smile on her face. "What more do you want?" she demanded the audience. "A giant arrow above his head saying that this is the rightful heir to Grimbeard the Ghastly? A future where humans and dragons coexist. Will that be the future you grasp?"

As Astrid finished, the crowd fell silent once again. Judging from the looks on their faces, they were considering the future. But no one was doing anything other than that. Hiccup swallowed the large lump in his throat.

Looking at the tense situation around her, Runa smirked. _Clap! _Her hands came together and she did it repeatedly. It was the only noise in the arena. _Clap! _Runa turned to look beside her when she saw Hrani clapping along with her.

Suddenly, a viking standing beside them started clapping as well. As did the viking beside him. And the one behind him. One by one, the vikings started applauding, the sound of clapping hands growing louder and louder with every passing moment.

Astonished, Hiccup looked directly at Astrid. His friend simply gave him a wink, prompting Hiccup to smile in return. His head suddenly whipped around to Camicazi who hopped down onto the stage with the crown. As she looked at Hiccup, a grin adorned her face. Camicazi handed the crown to Gobber.

Gothi stood beside the blacksmith, smiling. Stepped forward and turned to face Hiccup. Hiccup turned to face his teacher as well. Gothi wrote some letters beside Gobber's feet. The blacksmith read them quickly before turning back to Hiccup. Gobber cleared his throat. "Kneel."

Steadily, Hiccup lowered his body, placing his right leg against the stage and his left upwards. Hiccup's arm sat comfortably on his raised left knee. Hiccup slowly lowered his head.

Above, Gobber held up the crown before beginning to speak in a clear voice, "By the power vested in me by Odin, Thor and the gods that watch over us, I hereby proclaim thee, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, King of the Wilderwest!" Gobber gently placed the crown on Hiccup's head. Camicazi watched, smiling the whole way while Astrid was beaming with joy.

As Hiccup felt Gobber's hands leave the crown, Hiccup stood back up, proud and strong. The crowd let out a sudden outburst of applause. Astrid, Camicazi, Thuggory and all the other viking teens were clapping loud and hard, Snotlout trying to be the loudest of them.

"Hiccup!" one of the vikings yelled.

"Hiccup! Hiccup! Hiccup! Hiccup!" the rest of the arena chorused together. Hiccup couldn't think of anything else to do but smile and allow his moment to be captured in detail, to be kept forever in his memories. Toothless nudged Hiccup's back, so the young viking rubbed the Night Fury's head.

Stoick slowly stepped forward. "In honor of my son becoming King of the Wilderwest, everyone, to the Great Hall!" he bellowed. "Tonight, we feast!"

With a loud cheer, the sea of people quickly flooded out of the arena. Stoick and Gobber led the way to the Great Hall where they were sure to enjoy themselves. Hiccup laughed inwardly as he patted Toothless. Soon, the only ones who were left was him, Camicazi, Astrid and Thuggory.

Camicazi came up and placed a hand on Hiccup's shoulder. "Come on, let's go meet up with the rest." She paused. "Your majesty."

"Please don't do that," Hiccup told her hastily. "You're making me sound like I'm fifty years old." The two laughed before heading out of the arena. The viking teens met up with Astrid as she walked towards the cliff just at the entrance of the Dragon Training Academy, overlooking the sea.

Hiccup and Camicazi stood beside her along with Thuggory. The Meathead crossed his hands behind his head. "And how come we're the only ones here while everyone else is partying?" he asked. "Don't think they'll notice that the King's not around?"

"I think they'd be too drunk to notice," Astrid added, earning soft laughs from her friends. She turned to nudge Hiccup in the arm, careful to avoid his wounds. "So, how was your sixteenth birthday?"

Chuckling, Hiccup smiled at her. "Well, other people get a new axe or a bludgeon as a present. I get a whole archipelago so it's definitely something worth remembering."

The other viking teens laughed at Hiccup's response. However, smile on Camicazi's face suddenly disappeared. Hiccup turned to her and his grin melted away as well. "Camicazi?" he began in a soft, caring voice. "What's wrong."

"Well," she began before sighing. "Everything's over. I'll probably be heading back to the Bog Burglar Islands tomorrow morning. This might be the last time we have a moment like this."

Realizing what Camicazi just said, Thuggory's expression saddened as well. Quickly, he brightened up again. "There's always The Thing, right? We can still meet then."

"But it won't be the same feeling," Camicazi answered. "Just the four of us, together. Joking around, yelling at each other, getting into trouble, barely making it out alive while getting out of the trouble. And with Hiccup king now, the time we used to have to spend with each other probably vanished into thin air."

"I see your point," Astrid murmured sadly.

Looking to his left and right, Hiccup noticed that his friends were suddenly feeling down. Staring straight ahead, Hiccup's gaze was fixed on the sunset in front of him. He clenched his fists. "This won't be the last time," he said boldly, earning the attention of his friends.

"I may be King now, but that doesn't mean the time we have for each other is over." A smirk curled up his lips. "What's a king if he doesn't know his territory? I'll be sure to visit all of the tribes! The Meatheads, Bog Burglars, the Peaceables, Berserks and I'll somehow force myself to head on over to Hysteria!" He paused for a moment and grinned. "It's not over. And it's not over by a long shot."

"I guess you're right," said Astrid. "Looks like we still have a long way to go if we want to have humans and dragons live together. It's not going to be easy, is it?"

Camicazi stretched out her arms. "Man, I'm exhausted. As soon as I head home, I'm going to brush up the islands. You can visit us anytime."

Thuggory cracked his knuckles. "When I get back, I have to seriously train. So whenever you guys visit, I'll be ready to duel with you. What do you say, Hofferson, Haddock?"

"You're on!" Astrid replied fiercely.

"How come I wasn't included?" Camicazi added in the background. "Is this the kind of treatment you give someone who had to carry you on her back for two hours just because you had to charge forward and get poison injected into your body?"

Hiccup snickered as he looked at his friends enjoying themselves. A moment later, he redirected his gaze. Hiccup looked at the infinite sea with an excited gleam in his eye. For who knows what adventures lie just beyond that horizon.

End

_Current Date: March 1st_

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YES! I have finally finished this story! Fanfare! No, I don't have a sequel planned for this story though there is definitely potential for one.

Thanks again to everyone who read and review!

I don't really know what to do now. Should I head on over and start writing another HTTYD fanfiction? Or should I write or crossover. Maybe something other than HTTYD. Anyway, I'm open for ideas!

Until next time, keep reading fan fiction!

~Kyra


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